Little Talks
by starsxhearts23
Summary: Katie is given the opportunity of a lifetime when she is hired as a photographer for the WWE. While traveling with the Raw brand, Katie is able to experience everything under the sun, and perhaps even love with a certain Straight Edge Superstar.
1. Chapter 1

Katie was sure the pounding of her heart could be heard through the long corridors in the backstage area of the arena. Her first night in her new position was only a couple of hours from starting, and though she was nervous, she couldn't be more excited and prepared. She had worked hard for this. She knew she would thrive. She had just been hired as a new photographer for the WWE, working on the Raw brand. During her interview, she had pitched an idea to WWE executives to take photographs that showcased a 'different side' of the wrestlers the fans loved – pictures from their travels, from backstage, while they were training, at various appearances and events, and the like. The executives took the bait and soon Katie found herself in yet another interview – this time with Stephanie McMahon and Paul Levesque, who also approved of her idea. A new, special section of the WWE website would be made for this project, and it was exclusively Katie's. When they told her she was hired, she didn't breathe for about five minutes. Being able to take all these photographs meant that she would be traveling with the company: traveling and photography, her two favourite things, were now a part of her job. How cool was that?

As she walked through the corridors backstage, Katie couldn't help but want to pay a visit to her cousin Stephen, better known as Sheamus. She was proud to say that he had absolutely no part in her getting the job – he didn't even know she was considering working for the company. He found out by chance – he happened to be at WWE head office the same day as her interview and had found her and Paul Levesque chatting in the hallway after her meeting.

Luckily when she turned another corridor, her questions were answered: there was Sheamus chatting with John Cena, both of them still in their regular attire. She stopped immediately and grabbed her camera, hanging from her neck. She quickly snapped a photo of the superstars chatting. Almost immediately after, Sheamus turned his head and noticed her, seeing only a small portion of her face behind the huge camera. He smiled.

"There she is!" he exclaimed, motioning for her to come over. Katie walked towards them with her camera in her hands, smiling the entire time. Sheamus has always been like an older brother to her, and she was ecstatic that they would now be traveling together. Despite living thousands of miles away from each other, they had always been remarkably close.

"How are you, Shamu?" she asked, using the nickname she had given him when she found out what his ring name was.

"Shamu?" John interrupted, looking between the two incredulously. "That's...well that's brilliant, if you ask me."

Sheamus playfully shoved Cena by pushing his shoulder before turning his attention back to Katie. "John, this is my cousin Katie, the one I was telling you about."

John's eyes lit up instantly as he smiled. "The photographer?"

Katie blushed at the fact that John Cena, one of – if not the – biggest names in wrestling already knew who she was. "It's nice to meet you, John," she extended her hand to him, and she shook it strongly.

"Shamu over here already told me about your pitch to the executives," John mentioned. "You've got balls, kid."

Katie laughed. "And to think, they took the bait," she downplayed herself, not wanting to seem overly confident. "So my cousin has already been talking about me, huh?" she nudged Sheamus with her elbow. "Can't keep your mouth shut can you?"

"Come on Katie, I have to brag about you," Sheamus tried to defend himself. "The idea was great!"

Katie rolled her eyes at his comment. "Whatever you say, Shamu."

John looked between the two cousins and shook his head in pretend disappointment. He could already tell Katie would be great at her job, a natural, if you will. She was very comfortable around him and didn't shield her personality; if she was comfortable around the biggest name in the business, then she would be fine around everyone else.

"Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm starving," John said suddenly. "Let's go to catering. I bet everyone is waiting for us anyway."

Once Katie, Sheamus and John entered the catering area, they were immediately flagged down by Kofi Kingston, who was already sitting at a table, eating his meal. Other superstars had congregated in the area or were lining up to get food. Katie held her breath as she mentally named everyone she saw: Dolph Ziggler, the Miz, AJ Lee, Zack Ryder. She wanted to scream out in excitement but tried her hardest to keep her composure. She was a big fan of the business, which is partly the reason why she worked so hard to get the job. Working with the superstars was a dream come true for her, even if it would take some getting used to.

She took some pasta salad, bread, and a small chicken breast from catering and made her way over to the table where Kofi Kingston was sitting. Sheamus immediately introduced them, and Kofi opened up to her warmly, asking about her job and her photography. Soon AJ Lee joined the table and they were all immersed in conversation. Katie felt incredibly comfortable around all these superstars, who were larger-than-life to so many (including her), yet completely normal people. People who joked, laughed, said crude jokes, stuffed their faces with bread and pulled 'that's what she said' moments to their friends.

"Mind if I join you, ladies and germs?" a voice suddenly rang out. Everybody at the table looked to see the Straight Edge Superstar, CM Punk, standing with a plate of food in his hands, his large headphones draped over his neck.

"Making room for the skinny fatass as we speak," John commented, moving closer towards AJ so Punk could sit in the middle of the table, directly across from Katie.

Once he was settled in his seat he looked at Katie strangely. "Who are you?" he asked.

Before Sheamus could answer, Katie smiled and extended her hand towards Punk. "I'm Katie Cadenza, a new photographer for Raw," she said proudly, with a hint of cockiness in her voice. She knew Punk's personality and didn't want to be intimidated by him – she also didn't want him to think he could intimidate her.

Punk shook her hand, noticing the cockiness in her voice. "So, are you going to be taking promos of me in my trunks or something?" he asked.

"Not exactly," she answered. "WWE bought my idea to show the fans a different side of the superstars, so I'll be traveling with Raw photographing the superstars backstage, while you guys are traveling, at events...all that fun stuff."

Punk raised his eyebrows at what he had just heard. "So you're telling me this company is paying you to travel and take pictures? Damn, I picked the wrong career choice."

Katie was slightly taken aback by his comment, but decided to not let it faze her. "I don't think you picked the wrong career choice. Stick with wrestling. You couldn't do my job."

From beside Punk, Cena's mouth gaped open as he let out a whistle and a small 'damn!' as Katie made her comment. Punk continued to look at her, eyebrows raised. He had a small smirk on his face, now knowing he couldn't break this mysterious woman who was sitting across from him. "She's a feisty one," he said to John.

"Well, she is related to Sheamus," John nodded his head towards the Great White, who was still smiling at Katie's comments. He taught her well.

Katie looked at Punk and grinned. "I grew up with four older brothers," she told him. "I'm not scared of you."

Punk smiled back at her before forking some pasta into his mouth. "Good," he said. "Cause I'm sure not scared of you either, kid."


	2. Chapter 2

Katie's first Raw was magical. Superstars and Divas were ready to cooperate with her; at times she thought word must have gotten around that she was Sheamus' cousin, or else they wouldn't be acting so nice. She had taken some great photographs of the superstars getting ready for their matches and after their victories and losses; after some editing, they would be up on the website by tomorrow. She was ecstatic, and could barely hold her excitement.

Earlier in the night Sheamus had asked her to wait by his locker room once the show was finished so she could ride with him back to the hotel. As she leaned up against the wall outside his room, she looked back at some of the pictures she took, deleting the ones that were blurry or not to her standards.

Suddenly John Cena appeared before her, wearing one of his trademark 'Rise Above Hate' shirts and a pair of jeans. "Are you waiting for your cousin?" he asked, to which Katie nodded her head.

"We're all meeting at the hotel restaurant afterwards to grab some drinks and a bite to eat," he mentioned. "You should come with Shamu. Be introduced to some more people. It'll make traveling all the more easier."

Katie smiled at Cena's friendly gesture. "Thanks, John," she said, turning off her camera.

John saluted her as he continued to walk down the hallway, "I'll see you in a bit."

Once at the hotel Katie changed into some more comfortable clothes – a pair of plain black ballet flats, a pair of skinny jeans, and a purple v-neck top. She entered the bar and the number of superstars mingling with each other brought a smile to her face. John Cena, Sheamus, CM Punk, the Miz, Dolph Ziggler, AJ Lee and Kofi Kingston were all seated at a table, some with food in front of them, others with drinks. Sheamus noticed her immediately and motioned to the empty seat beside him. She hurried over and sat in her seat, ordering water and a plate of nachos from the waitress.

"So Katie, tell us more about yourself," Kofi said, leaning over from beside John, who was sitting beside Sheamus. "How the hell did you get here?"

Katie blushed suddenly and shrugged her shoulders. She noticed Punk's eyes on her but decided to ignore it. "What's there to say?" she asked. "I'm Canadian born and bred...I grew up in Toronto. I have four older brothers...five if you include the Great White over here," she nudged Sheamus. "They annoy me to no end but I wouldn't have it any other way. I went to university...did the whole thing...then I ended up moving to London to take a photography course...and then I ended up here."

"What did you study in university?" AJ asked.

Katie blushed even more. "History."

Sheamus smiled beside her. "She's trying to downplay her accomplishments, as always," he looked at her. "Katie's got a Master's in history. She did her dissertation on Tsar Alexander the First and the effect of the Napoleonic Wars in Russia," he said proudly, putting an arm around his cousin, who couldn't control her embarrassment of her cousin proclaiming to everyone what she had accomplished.

Everybody's eyebrows raised as Sheamus told them what she studied. She hated this reaction. She knew that most of those sitting at the table were consumed by wrestling – some for their entire lives – and never had the chance to go to university and pursue serious academic study. She was definitely proud of her accomplishments but never wanted to boast them to anyone.

"Damn girl," Kofi exclaimed. "Excuse me while I brush up on my knowledge of Russian history."

"Yet you pursued photography instead?" a voice rang out from the other end of the table. Katie looked and of course, it belonged to none other than CM Punk. "Why waste such a good education?"

Katie knew that it was a valid question, but she didn't like the tone in his voice and how he brought it up. "Photography was my calling," she shrugged her shoulders, as if that explained everything. "I moved to London to take a photography course, and it just so happened that I got more job opportunities – specifically this job – than I got with my Master's degree."

Punk's lips turned into a straight smile. Katie could tell he didn't quite believe her, though she was telling the truth. "Smart and well traveled. Sounds like the perfect life."

Again, Katie did not like the tone in his voice as he said what he said, but she decided against saying anything. Soon AJ was asking her all sorts of questions about living in London, and others took to their own conversations. At times they would all blend into one when Katie would tell a funny story from her travels or share the knowledge she had about certain subjects.

"Man, if I lived in London, I think I would just go site-seeing every day," AJ commented. "There is just so much to do there. I bet you can't even do everything in a year. And getting to walk out onto the sidewalk and see the London Bridge every day...that's my dream!"

Katie laughed at AJ's comments. "You're right, there is so much to do there," she said. "But the bridge you're talking about...it's actually called the Tower Bridge, because it basically leads directly into the Tower of London. The London Bridge still exists, but it's a lot less glamorous."

"Seriously?" AJ asked, shocked.

"Listen to her AJ," Punk commented suddenly. "She's the _scholar_, remember?"

Katie looked over at Punk and shot him a glare, definitely not appreciating his tone. She knew Sheamus shouldn't have said anything. She knew that now people would just tease her about it. She hated this feeling.

As the conversation died down an hour later, Punk left the table to go to the washroom. Katie didn't know what possessed her to follow him, but a few moments later she excused herself from the conversation about London she was still having with AJ to follow him and confront him. She waited outside the men's washroom, which was directly beside the women's, so it didn't look too suspicious.

The door opened suddenly and Punk came out, looking at the floor. "Punk," Katie said, loud enough for him to hear.

He looked up with a shocked expression on his face, not knowing why she would be there. "Uh, hey?"

"Listen..." Katie began, trying to sound as strong as she could. "I'm never one to make a big deal out of things like this but...but I'd really appreciate it if you'd stop making comments about my education and life choices. I don't chastise you for not going to college so I don't think you should chastise me for going to college," she said as she noticed a shocked expression on Punk's face. "And, for your information, I had to work my ass off at shitty jobs just so I could actually go to university. I think that should mean something, especially to you."

Punk had a bewildered look on his face and he didn't know what to say. "I'm...I'm sorry," he stumbled over her words. "I didn't...uh, I didn't know..."

"It's not that big of a deal," Katie tried to downplay what she just said. "I worked my ass off and I'm proud of what I've done, much like you. Just don't chastise me for getting an education in school because you got an education in the ring."

Punk was taken aback by her statement but knew where she was coming from. He knew he had been harsh and now he wanted to take it all back. "I'm really sorry," he apologized. "I just have a hard time opening up to new people. Ask your cousin. It was weeks before I stopped commenting on the lack of pigment in his skin."

Katie let out a loud snort as she smiled at the dark haired superstar who towered over her. "So we're good, yeah?" she asked.

"Of course we are," Punk said as they walked back to the group together.


	3. Chapter 3

John Cena was inexplicably excited for tonight's episode of Raw. He was waltzing around backstage, popping into everybody's dressing room, asking if they were ready for the show. Shaking the hands of the various members of the crew, he continued to prance around backstage until he found Kofi Kingston's locker room. Without knocking, he opened the door with a grand gesture, only to see Katie taking a picture of Kofi warming up for his match, which would be opening Raw.

"You guys ready for tonight?" he asked excitedly, a huge grin plastered on his face.

Kofi and Katie's heads whipped towards him before Kofi's face broke out in a smile. "Oh God, Cena is in one of his moods," he said to no-one in particular.

"Moods?" Katie asked immediately. "What moods?"

"You will soon see, my dear," Cena answered quickly before walking into the locker room. "Take a picture of my goofy face!" Cena exclaimed before posing with his tongue out.

Katie barely winced before she looked over at Kofi. "Is he on drugs or something? I thought the WWE has a Wellness Policy..."

Kofi cracked up at Katie's comment before nodding his head. "You just never know with John...you never know."

CM Punk soon emerged from the back of the room, already ready in his ring gear as well. "Ever heard of knocking, Cena?" he asked in a fake angry tone. "What if I was butt-naked, changing into my trunks?" he asked.

"I probably would have had to squint to see if there was anything actually going on," Cena had a shit eating grin on his face. Punk immediately began to chase Cena around the locker room, trying to grab a hold of his shirt.

Katie looked at the two men, dumb-founded. Again, she turned to Kofi. "They're like 12 year old boys. Are they always like this?"

Suddenly Katie felt her body swing in the opposite direction; John had grabbed her from behind and was now using her as a human shield. She let out a little scream as he had grabbed her mid section and placed her right in front of him, his arms still wrapped around her. "Can't do anything now, can you, Punk?"

"Don't you worry Cena. I know where you sleep at night," Punk chuckled before going to sit down on a bench against the wall.

"Speaking of night," Cena began, "Katie! Tonight after the show we're heading out again. We're giving everybody twenty minutes to change once we get back to the hotel," he said, assuming she would come.

Katie shook her head. "I don't know John...I'm going to need to edit these photos, and I've been lacking in sleep lately because of all this traveling..." she tried to give him an excuse.

"Sleep when you're dead!" Cena exclaimed, moving towards the door. "Please, Katie. Please?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

"How does anyone ever say no to you?" Katie scoffed. "When you cock your head like that I feel like I'm staring at a dog."

Cena plastered another shit eating grin on his face before exclaiming "TWENTY MINUTES!" at the top of his lungs.

As Raw began backstage was buzzing, superstars and divas everywhere in sight, the crew hard at work making sure everything ran smoothly. Katie had taken a few dozen shots of the various superstars already involved in matches and was keen on taking more.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Jack Swagger warming up for his upcoming match and decided to take a few shots of him. She raised her camera to her eye and began snapping away, but when looking over the pictures, the lighting was off. She decided to turn on the flash to try and fix the problem. As the flash went off, Jack looked at her.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked incredulously, obviously not pleased. "Why the hell are you taking pictures of me?"

Katie stood there, unable to say anything at his outburst, before quietly saying, "I'm a new photographer for the WWE."

"_WHY_ are you taking pictures of me?" he asked again, obviously not hearing her. "Are you authorized to be back here?"

Before Katie could defend herself, she heard a voice yell out from behind her, "Back off, Jack!" She looked behind her to see none other than CM Punk with a displeased look on his face. "She's just doing her job!"

"I don't even know who she is!" Swagger exclaimed, trying to defend his actions. "She could be some crazy fan for all I know."

CM Punk huffed, "Yeah, because some crazy fan is going to want to take pictures of _you_."

Swagger shook his head and walked away. Katie looked over at CM Punk. "Thanks."

"Has anyone else said that to you? If anyone else talks to you like that, let me know," he said to her quickly. "Or...you know, your cousin."

"No...he's the first one," Katie said.

"He's a bit of an asshole anyway," Punk dismissed the conversation. Suddenly a small smile appeared on his face. "So, are you gonna watch my match?"

Katie smiled at Punk. "I'll try. I have to take more pictures though."

Punk smiled down at the younger girl. "Suit yourself," he said before he began to walk off. Katie took that as her cue to walk in the opposite direction as well. "By the way," Punk said loud enough for her to hear. She stopped walking and turned around. "I saw the pictures from last week," he said, smiling. "You're quite the talented one."

"Thanks," she said quickly, a large smile on her face. "Hope you kick ass tonight."

Katie was glad he couldn't see her blush as she walked away.

Twenty minutes. Didn't John Cena know girls needed more than twenty minutes to get ready for something? Katie ran around her hotel room like a manic, trying everything she had on, before she settled on an oversized blouse with a tank top underneath and a pair of skinny jeans with ballet flats. When she made her way to the lobby, she saw Cena, CM Punk, Kofi, the Miz, Zach Ryder, Dolph Ziggler, and Sheamus all waiting in the lobby. Soon, Alex Riley joined them and Katie quickly noticed that she was the only female in attendance.

To Katie's luck, she was driven in CM Punk's rental car (always the designated driver), and Dolph and Miz had allowed her to ride shotgun while they squished themselves in the back. She and Punk made awkward small talk throughout the short ride before finally arriving at the restaurant.

Though conversation was lively, thanks to Cena still being on his natural high and many of the superstars feeding off it, Katie was dead tired, though she didn't want it to seem so. She participated in a lot of the conversation, but by the third hour, she was dead set on finding a bed a sleeping forever.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she took it out quickly, thinking it was one of her brothers.

_You look like you're about to pass out. _It was a text from Punk. He was sitting across from her at the table. Though everyone was participating in their own conversations, he was quiet, paying attention to her.

_I am going to pass out_. She texted him back, a small smile on her face.

_I can take you back to the hotel._ He offered.

_I don't want to inconvenience you. Plus how are all the others going to get back?_

_SuperCena's got an SUV rental with pop out seats. Don't worry about the others. You look like you're about to collapse. Just make some comment about being done for the night. I'll drive you back._

Katie took Punk's advice and announced to the table that she was done for the night; Punk immediately offered her a ride home, to which everybody, even Sheamus, nodded their heads nonchalantly about.

"Thanks for this," Katie said as she leaned back in the front seat of his car, trying to use the window as a sort of cushion for her head.

"It's no problem at all," Punk said, looking over at her quickly. "You're allowed to say no to Cena. I know that smile is worth a million bucks, but learn how to say no to him."

Katie chuckled at Punk's comment but decided not to say anything back. She closed her eyes and was soon sleeping.

Punk would look over at her every so often, watching her as she tried to move around to make herself more comfortable, but to no avail. Soon he heard his phone buzz from the cup holder. At a red light he looked at the text message he had from Cena.

_If there's a sock on your doorknob I won't hesitate to barge in._

CM Punk scowled at the crude nature of his best friend, but ultimately laughed. _Fuck off_.

Soon his phone buzzed again. _I see the way you look at her, Punk. Just know that Sheamus just told everyone left here she's off limits. So look out. _


	4. Chapter 4

CM Punk already had his headphones on by the time he boarded the bus, packed with other superstars. He took his usual seat at the back and blasted his music, choosing The Ramones to begin his travels. He spotted Katie near the front, sitting with AJ and chatting with some other Divas, her ever-present camera slung around her neck. She had already taken some photos of the Superstars outside, hauling their luggage into the bottom of the bus. They had just finished Raw and were en route to the airport to travel to the next city.

After he had brought Katie back to her room last night things ended completely normally. She had fallen asleep in the passenger's seat, so he had to wake her up. He brought her to her room to make sure she got in safely, and then retreated back to his down the hallway to watch a movie. The smallest part of him wished that they had talked longer or that she had been lying and wanted to watch the movie with him. For some odd reason he couldn't put his finger on, he really wanted to get to know her better. Maybe it was because he had underestimated her when he first met her; maybe it was because she was still mysterious to him; he didn't know.

"Mind if I join ya, fella?" Sheamus had asked suddenly, towering over Punk while he was standing in the aisle.

Punk motioned to the seat next to him, to which Sheamus sat down. He looked over at Punk and took the headphones off his ears. Punk glared at him with the look of death. "I wanted to talk," Sheamus said.

"It can't wait for the plane?" Punk asked, trying to put his headphones back on.

Sheamus' massive hands stopped him again. "It's not really plane talk," he said simply.

"Well then what's it about then?" Punk asked angrily.

"She's off limits."

Punk knew exactly who he was talking about, but decided to play dumb. "Who's off limits?"

"Katie." Punk rolled his eyes, pretending to be annoyed, but Sheamus pressed on. "I mean it Punk. She's off limits. Don't even think about it."

"You've got nothing to worry about," Punk dismissed him. "I wasn't even thinking about it. Are you happy?"

Sheamus smiled as he stood up from his seat. "Very happy," he smiled. "I'm glad we had this discussion Punk," he said as he walked away.

Punk stared at Sheamus as he walked to his seat behind John Cena and scowled to himself. He put his headphones back on and continued to blast his music. Who was Sheamus to tell him what to do?

In the lineup at the airport now, Katie stood behind her cousin in the security line, waiting for the others in front of them to pass. As Sheamus went through and cleared, she emptied her pockets, took off her jewelry, and put her bag in a bin to be checked as she walked through security. Sheamus waited for her as she was cleared. While she was putting on her jewelry, he stood beside her.

"How do you like it so far?" he asked.

Katie smiled at her older cousin. "I love it. The traveling, the people...everything."

"I've been meaning to talk to you about the people part," Sheamus said suddenly as they made their way to their gate.

Katie looked at him questioningly before raising her eyebrows. "Oh come on..." she knew where this conversation was headed.

"Everybody is off limits, Katie. Everybody," he said, to which Katie rolled her eyes.

"You don't think I know that already?" she asked, punching him lightly in the arm. "I'm not going to risk my job for some fling with the talent. I thought you thought I was smarter than that," she pinched him hard, to which he winced.

"That fucking hurt!" he gasped, holding the place on his arm where she had pinched him. "I just wanted to make sure you knew," he defended himself, still rubbing the sore area. "I don't want you risking your job either."

"You have nothing to worry about," she told him as she readjusted her bag on her shoulder. "Don't even bring it up ever again, because it's not going to happen."

Before the plane took off, Katie had already snapped some more pictures of the Superstars: Zack Ryder, who was already asleep, was catching flies for how open his mouth was – she knew the others would torment him later. Her last photo was one of CM Punk looking down at his phone before one of the flight attendants told her to turn her camera off.

She was seated in an aisle seat next to AJ, who was already busy on her laptop writing emails to family. Katie took a book out from her bag, _War and Peace_ by Leo Tolstoy, and placed it on the tray in front of her. She got up and decided to go to the washroom before the plane took off.

When she was walking back she noticed CM Punk sitting alone, still looking down at his phone, which was playing some sort of movie. Upon closer inspection she saw that he was watching _The Walking Dead_, one of her favourite TV shows.

"You've got to be kidding me," she said in disbelief. With his headphones on, he didn't hear her, so she decided to tap him on his shoulder. He looked up, and noticing it was her, he smiled. He took off his headphones.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I'm coming in," she said simply, almost pushing at him to get out of his seat.

"What?"

"Get up and give me a headphone. I need to catch up on this show," she stated.

He looked at her, shocked. "_You_ watch the Walking Dead?" he asked.

"GET UP!" she exclaimed, to which he finally did. She slid into the window seat and closed the window screen so there would be no glare.

"You're quite pushy today," Punk joked with her as the plane began to move and the seatbelt sign went on.

"Nobody gets in the way of me and The Walking Dead," she said.

Halfway through the flight, Katie's legs began to cramp, as she wasn't able to stretch them out. She didn't want to make it known to Punk, but he caught on quickly when he saw her trying to extend them as far as they could go under the seat in front of her.

"Are your legs hurting?" he asked, not even waiting for a reply. He patted his thigh and told her, "Put 'em up here."

She looked at him for a moment. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"It's no biggie," he waved off her concern.

As she swung her legs over Punk's lap, she readjusted herself in her seat to make herself more comfortable, Punk watching her the entire time. When she was finally done, a nod of his head and a small smile to him signaled she was ready. He rested his arms on her legs and held out the iPhone between them so they could continue watching. Katie tried her hardest to avoid the glares she could see coming from Sheamus, which Punk was oblivious to.


	5. Chapter 5

Another Raw, another workday. Katie had her camera slung around her neck, doing her backstage rounds before the show began. Though it had already been a couple of weeks since she had started, the feeling was still surreal. She remembered back when she was a little girl and her brothers would make her referee their own 'wrestling' matches in the basement or backyard. Now, she was working for the company that inspired that. Never in a million years could she have envisioned her life to be like this; she was sure she would have been analyzing artefacts by this point, putting her degree to good use.

As she stood near the gorilla position reviewing the photos in her camera, she noticed John Cena approaching her with headphones in his ears. She waved to him but knew when he had his headphones on, he was prepping for the night at hand.

"Stephanie wants to see you," he said, pointing down the long hallway to where her makeshift office was for the night.

"McMahon?" Katie gulped before looking down the hallway. Cena nodded his head at her before walking away. Katie quickly snapped a picture of him warming up before making her way down the hallway.

As she knocked on the office door of Stephanie McMahon, her stomach was in knots. What could Stephanie possibly want? Did she want to tell Katie she was already fired? That she was doing a poor job?

Stephanie opened the door with a smile on her face. "Come on in, Katie," she said as she allowed Katie to walk in. Both women sat down.

"I got John's message," Katie said. "He told me you needed to speak to me. Is everything ok?" she asked.

"Before bad thoughts begin to flood your head, yes, everything is fine," Stephanie chuckled. "Don't be nervous Katie."

Katie let out a sigh of relief before slumping back in her seat dramatically. "Good. I thought you were going to fire me!"

"I can't do that when your photos are one of the most popular viewed links on our website," Stephanie said, making Katie's mouth drop open. "The fans love your photos, Katie. They're eating them up. We've been checking the numbers and you're section is quickly becoming a fan favourite."

"That's...I can't...Wow," was all Katie could say. Never in a million years...

"Fans aren't the only ones Katie. I'm particularly impressed with your work. So is Paul. My father is even growing on them," Stephanie said, shocking Katie even more. "Fans want more of these photos. _I_ want more of these photos. Can you deliver?"

"Of course," Katie said right away. "Anything you want me to do, I'll do it."

"Fantastic," Stephanie smiled. "In about two weeks' time, John Cena and CM Punk will be doing some promoting for Raw's 1000th episode, and we want you to follow them on their media tour. We expect tons of photos from these events. Think you can deliver?"

Katie smiled as she said, "I know I can deliver," to which Stephanie smiled again.

"Well then, we'll see you in two weeks," she said, getting up from behind the desk. "I'll email you the information shortly, and provide you with flight and travel arrangements. Go back to Raw, the show is about to start."

"Thanks so much Stephanie," Katie said as she exited the office. "I won't let you down."

"It's not about letting me down," Stephanie said. "Don't let the _fans_ down."

As CM Punk was warming up for his match tonight on Raw, he had his own headphones on, stretching and jumping on boxes to see if he was getting better at his vertical jump. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Katie emerge from Stephanie McMahon's makeshift office with a smile on her face, clutching her camera. He took off his headphones immediately to talk to her. "Why are you smiling like the Cheshire cat?" he asked her.

"Stephanie said she wants me to handle some media events that you and John are going to do for Raw's 1000th episode," Katie told him, still smiling from ear to ear. "She said my section on the website is one of the most popular!"

Punk was now smiling, happy for the success of his young co-worker. He hugged her as he congratulated her. "That's amazing Katie. I knew you would do well," he said.

"Do you know where my cousin is?" she asked. "I have to tell him. He'll freak."

"His room is just down the hall from mine," Punk told her, motioning in the general direction of where his locker room was. "But before you go," he stopped her by putting a hand on his shoulder, "How are you getting to the next city?"

"I was going to ride with AJ...why?" she asked.

"Well...well you have some catching up to do on the Walking Dead," Punk said, trying to show he wasn't nervous. He never got nervous – why was this happening now. "If you want, you can ride with Kofi and I in our tour bus, and we can catch up on the show."

Katie smiled. "That sounds fun. Let's do it," she said, finally walking away. "I hope you boys don't snore too loud."

Punk laughed before putting his headphones back on.

As Raw wrapped up and everybody began packing their bags, Katie made sure she had everything she needed for her ride with Punk and Kofi. When Sheamus asked her who she would be riding with, she lied and told him AJ – her original plan – so he wouldn't get suspicious. She hated lying to her cousin but knew it was for the best; he would have an aneurism just thinking about Punk and Katie traveling together for an almost nine hour bus ride. AJ promised to keep the secret and smiled cheekily when Katie told her the real plans.

Though Sheamus' bus had already left, Katie still felt the need to sneak on to Punk's bus in fear of anyone else seeing – she knew they would immediate tell her cousin and then all hell would break loose. Kofi was already on the bus and welcomed Katie with open arms.

"How does your cousin feel about this?" he asked as Katie set her stuff down in one of the bunks.

"He doesn't know," Katie admitted. "And he _won't_ know."

Kofi raised his hands in mock defeat. "I won't say a thing," he told her.

Soon Punk climbed onto the bus and set his bag down on the couch at the front of the bus. He smiled at Katie before handing her the DVD set. "Do you mind setting it up for me in the back room?" he asked. "I just have to talk to Kofi for a second."

"Sure," Katie nodded her head as she took the DVDs from Punk and made her way to the back of the bus. As she slid open the door, she was met with a large bed and a giant TV – was this Punk's room? Whatever. She found the controller for the TV and DVD player and began setting up the episode they needed to watch.

At the front of the bus, Punk stared at Kofi for a moment, Kofi staring back. "I'm not telling him," Kofi finally said. "But you will, eventually."

Punk shook his head. "No I won't, because nothing is going to happen."

"So why is she on our bus then? If you didn't care about her or had no opinion of her she wouldn't be here," Kofi reasoned. "Look, she's a great girl, and I can tell you like her. I can also tell you're mentally beating yourself up for falling for her this fast. But you need to be careful. Sheamus is really protective of her."

"I know that, that's why you can't say anything," Punk said. Kofi was right about everything. Punk hated how he felt, and didn't exactly want to go behind Sheamus' back, but knew he had to.

"Listen, if he asks me I'll be oblivious. But when – _WHEN_ – something happens, you need to tell him."

With that final statement and a nod of his head, Punk made his way towards the back of the bus, sliding open the door to find Katie already sprawled out on his bed, the TV paused.

"You're on my side," Punk said with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Too bad, so sad," Katie shrugged her shoulders. "It's my side now."

Punk smiled as he jumped onto the bed, the force of his impact displacing Katie from her position. He grabbed her as she let out a small scream and forced her over to the other side of the bed. She began to kick him playfully but he grabbed her legs easily and stopped her. "Don't try and fight a pro-wrestler, you won't win," he said.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked, trying to get comfortable again. He set her legs down but Katie noticed he kept his left arm draped over her right leg.

"You must learn early that no-one messes with my side of the bed. Not even Kofi, and he's my road wife."

Katie chuckled to herself before grabbing the controller and pressing play. Punk's arm was still draped over her leg. She stared at it for a moment, not paying attention to the show she was supposed to be paying attention to. The butterflies in her stomach returned and for some unknown reason, she wanted to lay her hand on his, but she knew she shouldn't. Why was she feeling this way? Was this really happening?

I just wanted to say THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH for all your reviews! You guys seriously make my day when I read them. Please feel free to post more. I hope everybody is content with the story so far!


	6. Chapter 6

Sheamus always trusted Katie. He knew she had a good head on her shoulders and wasn't easily influenced by others. Growing up with four older brothers does that to a person, especially a girl –she learned bullshit from the beginning and had no problem spotting it. She knew the value of hard work and knew how important this job opportunity was to her – she wouldn't do anything to jeopardize her future. Sheamus knew he could trust Katie not to get involved with any of his friends. He didn't lose much sleep over it at night.

She had told him about her meeting with Stephanie last week and he was over the moon for her. He knew she deserved it. She had been working so hard, following everybody around with her trusty camera around her neck. They all loved her. She was spunky, but knew when to hold back her attitude. She was professional, but knew when to let her guard down and joke around. She had the best qualities needed to succeed.

He invited her out on a lengthy run this afternoon so they could catch up. He knew she missed her four older brothers – Daniel, Matt, Josh, and Mark – though she would never admit it, and he knew she missed Daniel's kids, her niece Emma and nephew Oliver, whom she affectionately called Ollie. She would phone them every chance she got, but now that they were moving into the summer season, she was getting too busy. Now that Stephanie added more to her plate, he knew Katie would be overrun with work. Sheamus had promised to take her to some of the house shows he was booked to do in Canada during the fall so she could see them again.

Sheamus brought her to the gym after their long, 10km run, where he was training with John Cena for the afternoon. She tried some of the exercises they were doing but failed miserably, much to their laughter and delight. She stuck to doing her own push ups, crunches and squats.

Katie knew she should have told Sheamus about the overnight ride with Punk and Kofi last week, but something in her always stopped her from telling him. One half of her reasoned that Sheamus should know – it was one of his best friends, after all – but the other half of her reasoned that she shouldn't because everything was so innocent. She and Punk both ended up falling asleep on his bed while watching the show, and when she woke up and noticed, she quickly moved to one of the bunks just outside his door. Granted, Punk got angry at her the next morning, telling her she should have woken him up so that _he_ slept in the bunk, but she wasn't hearing any of it. She snapped some photos of Sheamus and John working out before they all headed back to the hotel to wash up and get ready for Raw.

After taking her shower, Katie sat at the desk in the room and mulled over some of the photos she had taken. She edited some and posted them on the WWE website, then put others in a folder to be edited later on tonight. AJ, who she was rooming with, was in the shower now getting ready for Raw. She had been singing something Katie couldn't quite put her finger on. Suddenly, a knock came at the door. Thinking automatically that it was Sheamus, Katie went to open it quickly.

"What do you want, Shamu?" she asked as she opened the door. Except it wasn't Sheamus at the door.

CM Punk stared back at her with a grin on his face. "Nice hair," he said, referring to her still-wet locks that were cascading all around her face.

"Uh, thanks..." she said, suddenly self conscious that he was seeing her like this. She was never really one to care about what people thought of her appearance, but for some reason, with Punk, it was different. "What did you need?" she asked.

"Are we having another Walking Dead marathon after Raw?" he asked.

"Sorry, I can't," she said quickly, shaking her head. "I've got a bunch of photos to edit and send into the website tonight. It's starting to get really busy."

"Oh...okay, that's fine," he said, and Katie could swear she heard a hint of disappointment in his voice. "Um...Is AJ here? I need to talk to her about what's going to happen on Raw tonight."

"She's in the shower," Katie answered, moving some wet hair out of her face. "I'll have her call your room when she's out, okay?"

"Cool, thanks," he said, waving slightly and walking away. "Good luck with the work tonight."

On her feet for the entire duration of Raw, Katie was tired by the end of the show but proud of the photos she managed to get. For almost the entire duration of the show she was running around like a chicken with its head cut off, taking pictures here, asking superstars to pose there, trying to get the perfect lighting by crouching and bending in weird positions so the photos came out just right. Most superstars admired how she was so into her craft, but she knew some of them _must_ have thought her weird. It was a hugely successful night but she was dead tired – and she knew she had to now edit all of these photos and submit them to the website.

Sheamus drove her and AJ back to the hotel, where nobody was going out tonight. Once entering their hotel room, AJ immediately changed into her pajamas and went to bed while Katie opened up her laptop and began editing her photos. There were a lot more than she remembered, which would mean less sleep in the end, but she needed to give the fans what they wanted.

At around 3:00am, Katie was finally done, all the photos submitted to the website. She breathed a sigh of relief and stretched out on the uncomfortable desk chair for a moment, leaning her head back so her neck wouldn't be so strained. She had been hunched over for hours staring at her computer screen – even her eyes were beginning to hurt her. She changed into her pajamas before collapsing on her bed and throwing the covers over her.

For about forty five minutes she had been tossing and turning in the bed, unable to sleep, mostly because of her throbbing left knee. She knew this feeling all too well – she had injured it years ago and it acted up from time to time. It hadn't for a while though, which is why tonight's pain was on a whole new level. She tried to ignore it, massaging it for a bit before trying to sleep again, but to no avail. She cursed a slew of profanities before rising from her bed. She needed to find the ice machine so she could at least freeze it. Once she tried to walk on it though, it hurt even more. She could hardly put any pressure on it. This was going to be a challenge.

She managed to slip on her flip flops and grab her key card before opening the door and limping out, wondering which direction to go for the ice machine. She began walking left, towards the elevators, and was thankful when she saw a sign that pointed in the direction of the ice machine. As she continued to limp and hop on one leg, small tears began forming in her eyes from the pain. It was almost unbearable.

The elevator light suddenly flashed on and the doors opened. Lo and behold, Punk emerged from the elevator wearing a hoodie and some running shorts. He didn't notice her at first, his headphones on his head, deep into his music, but the second he did, he took them off.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" he asked her. She had straightened up and wiped the tears from her eyes, not wanting him to know what she was really up to. It wasn't his problem so he shouldn't have to deal with it.

"I've been sitting down for so long, I need to stretch," she tried to joke, smiling at him. "Thought I'd just take a walk through the hallway. What are you doing up?" she asked.

"Oh, you know...just going for a midnight run," he said. She knew he suffered from sleeping problems, maybe tonight was one of those nights.

"Alright, cool," she said, desperately wanting to cut the conversation short. She really needed the ice. "I'll see you tomorrow morning then. G'night, Punk."

He waved and walked away from her, down to his hotel room which was at the other end of the hallway. Once he was gone she presumed limping and hopping until she reached the little nook where the ice machine was.

_We're sorry. The ice machine has temporarily been moved to the other end of the hallway due to maintenance. Sorry for the inconvenience._ A sign was taped on the wall.

"Oh, you've got to be fucking KIDDING ME!" Katie exclaimed, realizing she now had to hop all the way down to the other end of the hallway. She angrily turned around and began to limp down the long hallway.

A door opened from down the hall and Punk's head shot out. "Katie, was that you yelling?" he asked.

"Go to bed, Punk," she dismissed him with a harsh tone, not caring now that he saw her limping and hopping.

Not listening to her orders, he walked down the hallway towards her. "Why are you limping?" he asked.

"I said go to be—WHOA!" she suddenly exclaimed, her knee giving way below her. Punk hurried over to her and caught her before she hit the ground.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked, holding her as he noticed the tears return in her eyes.

"It's just my knee," she said, wiping the tears away. "I need ice. It's really hurting."

Punk wanted to ask other questions but could see she was in pain. He swept her up in his arms and carried her bridal style towards his room. "What are you doing?" she asked as he carried her. She was embarrassed for herself. "My room is over there."

"Just stay here," he said, letting her down and opening his door. "I'll go get the ice. Just go sit."

Katie went to sit on Punk's bed awkwardly as he went to fetch the ice. She looked around his room and noticed that everything was neat and not all over the floor – contrary to most men she knew. He came back quickly with some ice and kneeled down in front of her, pulling her pajama pant leg up.

"You're gonna need to straighten out your leg for me," he said, holding her ankle and helping her do so. She winced in pain and cursed a few times, which made Punk laugh.

"I'm glad you think this is funny," she told him. He placed the makeshift ice pack on her knee, which relieved the smallest bit of pain.

"Why is this even hurting you, anyway?" he asked, getting a wrap-around bandage from his suitcase mere feet away from him.

"I uh...I have a hyper-extended knee," she said, admitting to him half of her problem.

He looked at her with his eyebrows raised before continuing to wrap the bandage around her knee with the ice still there. "How did you manage to get that?" he asked again.

"Oh, you know..." she mused, trying to come up with a quick excuse. "I grew up with four older brothers. Injuries were bound to happen eventually. They didn't exactly play nice sometimes."

Sensing that she was lying but didn't really want to talk about it, Punk dropped the subject and continued to wrap the bandage tightly around her.

"I feel like one of those stupid damsels in distress," she said, wiping some more tears from her face. "Can I borrow this bandage? I might need it for tomorrow."

"Of course you can," he said, finally wrapping it up and pinning it in place. "Is the pain subsiding?"

She nodded her head. "A little bit," she said, moving back onto the bed and resting her head on the pillow. Punk went into the washroom to wash his hands. Katie looked around the room to pass the time and that's when she noticed: there was only one bed. _Fuck._ She needed to make her escape. How was she supposed to do that with only one working leg?

"You can sleep here if you want," Punk called from the washroom. It was as if he was reading her mind. He emerged shortly afterwards, wiping his face with a towel. "We're both responsible adults. We're friends," he shrugged his shoulders. "You don't have a problem with that, do you?" he asked.

"Well it's not like I can walk anywhere," she said, smiling to herself.

"Good," Punk smiled at her quickly before sitting on the edge of the bed.

"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say you're deliberately trying to get alone time with me," she teased him, smirking at him, though he couldn't see it.

He looked over his shoulder at her with his eyebrow raised and a small smirk on his face as well. "You're not exactly refusing my attempts though, now are you?" he asked mischievously.

"Why would I?" Katie said, pulling the covers over her. "We're friends. Friends spend time together."

"Right," Punk said, turning around so his back was to her. "Friends help friends catch up on the Walking Dead. And friends help friends when they suddenly become cripples."

She snorted and smacked him lightly as he got under the covers as well. He looked over at her. "Goodnight Katie. Try and get some sleep."

"Please don't tell my cousin about this," she whispered.

"I won't," he whispered back immediately. "You have nothing to worry about Katie."

"Thank you," she whispered as she continued to stare at him. He shifted positions in bed. "No really Punk..." she said, placing a hand on his shoulder underneath the covers. "Thank you."

He looked at her and smiled genuinely. "I know Katie. It's no problem at all. Get some sleep."

She finally turned over to that her back was to him, and soon he heard her breathing soften, and he knew she was asleep. He sighed loudly and rubbed his temples, wondering how he got himself in such a predicament. If Sheamus ever found out about this, he'd be dead.

xxxxx

Thank you again for all of your lovely reviews! Here is an extra long chapter for you guys :) Please comment and tell me how you like it! More to come soon...I am really enjoying writing this, and I hope you're enjoying reading!


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, Katie opened her eyes slowly, taking in her surroundings. Not remembering where she was, she looked around the room and didn't see AJ. Instead, she saw CM Punk sitting on a chair, talking on his phone, for what sounded like a phone interview. The events from last night quickly came back to her and she remembered Punk helping her in the hallway and wrapping her knee up. She looked under the covers to see the bandage still wrapped tightly – she felt no pain, thankfully. She stayed in bed, listening to the last bits of Punk's phone interview before he hung up and focused all his attention on her.

"Good morning," he said, smiling at her and stuffing his phone into his pocket. "How is your knee?"

"No more pain," she smiled back, sitting up in the bed. "I hope I didn't sleep like a starfish last night."

Punk chuckled to himself as he walked over to her and sat on the side of the bed. "You barely moved," he told her. "You were like a log the entire night."

"Good to know my sleeping habits are still the same after all these years," she commented to herself. She threw the covers off her and stood up and stretched right beside Punk. She grabbed her phone from the side table and noticed she had three text messages from AJ.

_Where the hell are you? I woke up and you're not here!_

_HELLOOOOOOOOOOO?_

_Nevermind, I figured it out ;) your secret is safe with me, girl!_

"I should probably get back to AJ," Katie groaned, mentally slapping herself for not leaving a note or any kind of message to AJ about her whereabouts. "She's been looking for me."

"Alright," Punk said, standing up and leading her to the door. "I'll see you in the lobby at two, right? You're flying with us?"

Katie nodded her head as he opened the door for her and let her out. "Thanks again, Punk," she said as she reached out and squeezed his arm. "I don't know what I would have done."

"It's nothing, Katie. Don't worry about it. Remember, friends help friends when they suddenly become cripples."

She laughed as she walked down the hallway towards her room. She took out her key card from her pajama pants pocket and swiped it, getting into her room. She saw AJ standing over her bed, packing the remainder of her clothes for their flight later today. When AJ saw Katie, her eyes immediately shined, running over to her and closing the door quickly.

"What _happened_ last night?" AJ asked, a smile creeping on her face. "You were in Punk's room, weren't you?"

Katie sighed. "_Nothing_ happened, if that's what you're implying," she said, completely dismissing the notion.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I was having bad knee pain last night, and when I went to get some ice he heard me and helped me. That's _it_," Katie explained, hiking up her pant leg so AJ could see the bandage wrapped around her knee.

AJ's face turned from one of hope to disappointment. "Oh," she said, a small frown appearing on her face. "But, you know...you guys have been getting close lately."

"Yeah, so?" Katie retorted, grabbing her suitcase from the floor and placing it on her bed she didn't even sleep in. "So have John and I. So have Kofi and I."

"But with Punk it's different," AJ commented, trying to pry an answer out of Katie. "Isn't it?"

A small smile crept on Katie's face as she looked at AJ, who was also smiling. "You cannot tell a _soul!"_ she exclaimed, to which AJ squealed at and hugged her. "I mean it AJ! If you tell anyone they're going to tell Sheamus and then all hell will break loose."

"This is SO EXCITING!" AJ exclaimed, clapping her hands and jumping. "Let me first tell you how awesome it is to have a girl around to talk with about these things, but _this...this_ is going to be awesome!"

Katie shook her head as she concentrated back on grabbing her clothes from her suitcase. "Don't get your hopes up AJ. Yeah, he's handsome, and yeah, he's a great guy, but I'm not willing to sacrifice my job for a fling or relationship."

"It won't get to that point," AJ assured her. "You're both responsible adults and will handle the situation maturely. If you guys get together and then break up, I'm gonna be really sad, but you guys will put on your big boy and big girl pants and handle the situation like adults."

Katie looked over at AJ. "You're right. The next order of business is Sheamus."

"Who cares about him?" AJ exclaimed. "You're a woman! You can make your own decisions! And if Sheamus doesn't like it...well, he has to put on his big boy pants too!" Katie smiled at her before she continued on. "I don't understand why everybody has to make relationships so dramatic these days. If two people like each other, let them like each other! I know your cousin means well, but this is your life Katie. He can't dictate to you your own life."

Katie was so happy she had found a friend like AJ amongst all these superstars. At the end of the day she was just a normal girl, despite the fact she was living out her dream for the company she loved. AJ was right – who was anyone to say anything about her and Punk? If she wanted him, she should go for him, and nobody, not even Sheamus, should stand in her way.

For the remainder of the morning Katie took a shower and finished packing. She and AJ had lunch in the restaurant at the hotel and then ventured off to a department store to pick up some travelling essentials before making it back by 1:30. At 2pm, all the superstars were to meet in the lobby where they would board buses to the airport. By 1:45 they were checking out at the front desk and noticed a sizeable amount of superstars already congregated in the lobby. Katie noticed Punk emerge from the elevator with his headphones on as she and AJ talked with the Miz about Maryse and some of her new modelling ventures. She escaped them quietly once they began to talk about another subject and Katie snapped a picture of the entire group waiting in the lobby. She then decided to sneak up behind Punk, tugging at his hoodie. He spun around and a smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Well hello stranger," he said. "Shamu's a bit late, don't you think? We have to go soon."

"Shamu flew out last night," Katie said in a mischievous tone.

"I thought he drove you to the hotel last night?"

"He did," Katie nodded her head, "and then he drove to the airport."

Punk smiled as he leaned his head back slightly, taking in Katie's suddenly giddy nature. "Why do you keep grinning at me like the Cheshire cat?" he asked.

"No reason," she said mysteriously, looking away for a moment. "You know, my dad always used to call me that too."

"Good to know," he said, looking down at her. "Luckily we don't have a long flight today."

"Let's squeeze in some episodes of Breaking Bad, I have them on my laptop," she suggested.

"Sounds awesome to me," Punk agreed as they walked towards the group.

As they joined in on a conversation Dolph was having with Kofi, Punk parked his suitcase beside him, leaning on the handle as they waited for everybody to come. As he stood, listening to Dolph's story, he noticed Katie standing awfully close to him, almost leaning into his arm discreetly as she listened into the story as well.

Katie looked over at AJ, who had been staring at her for a while. AJ smiled discreetly at Katie, who tried to hide her smile. After Katie began engaging in the conversation, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She saw that it was a text from AJ.

_Go get em, tiger!_

Xxxxx

This is sort of a filler chapter but I hope you all enjoyed it! Please review


	8. Chapter 8

Media day had finally arrived for Katie with John Cena and CM Punk. Having flown out to New York City the afternoon before, Katie learned of her hectic schedule for the weekend while she was on the plane. On the Saturday, she would need to be out the door with John at 6am, as he needed to do a couple of morning show appearances, including granting a Make-A-Wish to a special fan. After the morning interviews was a visit to the WWE office in New York City, where he would take some new promo shots and overlook some of the new merchandise they would be selling. Before lunch he would be taken to three different offices to conduct radio interviews. She had a half an hour for lunch.

In that half an hour she was supposed to meet CM Punk on the other side of Manhattan, whose media day began at 1pm. She would follow Punk to his appearances as well, including radio interviews, another Make-A-Wish, and back to WWE offices for promo shoots and the overlooking of merchandise. Punk was then going to a small, unknown charity event, organized by one of his friends, before being shipped off to do a late-night show. End of day one.

Day two saw Katie, John and Punk starting at 6am again, venturing out to New Jersey, where they had more morning shows to be a part of and more Make-A-Wishes to grant. CM Punk then had an autograph signing in the morning from 10-11:30 while John Cena went back into Manhattan, Katie following him. Half hour lunch break. Katie followed John to one more appearance before meeting up with CM Punk, who had another autograph signing in Manhattan. After the autograph signing he had to head back to WWE offices to sign merchandise and complete phone interviews. If all went smoothly, the day would end around 11pm, CM Punk's bus would pick them up outside the WWE offices, and they'd be off to Raleigh for Raw the next night.

At 5:50am Katie entered the lobby of the Palace hotel in New York, where they were staying, and waited in one of the chairs near the front desk for John to arrive. Their handler, Frank, was also waiting – he was supposed to make sure everything went smoothly and John was where he needed to be at all times. John eventually emerged from the elevators and they began their long, hectic day.

Katie remained in the close background during many of the events for John, snapping pictures almost every other minute. Other photographers, mainly from the media outlets they were visiting, were quick to push the unassuming girl out of their way to get their own pictures of John, but once John called them out on it, saying she worked for the WWE, she was treated like gold.

During John's trip to WWE offices Stephanie McMahon had called Katie, wishing for her to begin uploading pictures to the WWE website during any chance she got. "In the car between events, during lunch, during a washroom break – I don't care. Just get them up there. The fans are hungry for them." This demand saw Katie work right through any break she could conceive, and every car ride she had with John, who often helped her pick the best photos of him. She worked straight through lunch and the car ride to the other side of Manhattan when she had to leave John and meet Punk, only stopping to grab another coffee from Starbucks.

When she met with Punk they made their way to his first radio interview, and she immediately began snapping away. She began to feel the stress of the day but tried to fend it off with more coffee. While he was in his first interview she managed to upload some more photos of the Straight Edge Superstar. Interview after interview was conducted before they made their way back to WWE offices to Punk could take some more promo shots. He saw the stress of the day getting to her and tried to ease Katie by not being 'CM Punk' around her and just being his normal self, but she was relentless and wouldn't stop snapping away until she got the perfect shots. At the unknown charity event Katie sat off to the side to upload more photos, but the event lasted much shorter than she expected, so now it was on to the late night show.

While she and Punk were backstage, Punk getting prepped by the crew of the show, Stephanie phoned her again. "We don't want to make it seem like the blog is focusing too much on them. Upload some old photos of other superstars so they are getting their fair share of exposure as well," she told Katie, and Katie couldn't do anything but agree.

Punk knew the drill. He knew this was a plot by Stephanie McMahon to see if Katie had what it took to stick around with the company. He had seen it so many times before. So many people had quit half way into the day or refused to do the work, but Katie just nodded her head and kept persevering. He admired how hard she worked but wanted her to relax – he knew she wouldn't, no matter how hard he tried to convince her.

When he was done his interview for the late night show he found Katie hunched over her computer, sitting on the floor.

"Are you ever gonna get off that thing?" he asked as he stood above her.

"Stephanie wants more pictures. The fans want more pictures. I have to give the fans what they want," she said in a monotone voice, not paying attention to him. "Are you done?" she asked.

"Yeah, we can go now," he said, helping her up and holding her laptop for her as she collected her belongings off the floor. "Why didn't you find a table? Why did you have to be weird and sit on the floor?"

Katie shrugged her shoulders at his question as she grabbed her laptop from him and walked with it. The second they got back into the car she opened it again and continued editing and uploading her photos. The car ride wasn't long until they were back at the hotel. She and Punk barely spoke; he knew she was busy and didn't want to bother her. The more she got done now the less she had to do tomorrow.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning," he said to her as they walked through the lobby and towards the elevators together. "Please get some sleep tonight. Tell Stephanie to fuck off if you have to. Or if you want, call me and I'll do it," he offered.

Katie smiled as she hugged her laptop against her body. She was going to floor 14, he was on a higher floor with Cena. "We'll see, Punk," she said as the elevator hit floor 14. "Good night."

The next morning was even more hectic than the last. Katie had stayed up the entire night editing her photos and posting them on the website – she had gotten no sleep. At Starbucks that morning she ordered four espressos and asked for them to be put in a tall – she drank it straight, with no sugar or milk, much to the astonishment of Punk and Cena. Traffic almost made John late for his morning show appearances. Katie had been pushed around again by more media, but John was so busy he didn't notice and couldn't condemn them. After the Make-A-Wishes, the drive back into Manhattan was even worse, making John one hour late to his radio show appearance. After they dropped of John, she went for more coffee, stopped by the hotel to grab her duffel bag and check out, and met with CM Punk, who was ready for his second autograph signing of the day. She stood off to the side snapping photos of him and moving around the room to get pictures of fans. He had dinner catered to him but Katie was left to fend for herself – during this time she was just back on her laptop. The ride to the WWE offices was another silent one, as Katie was too busy working and drinking her coffee to pay attention to Punk. She had been awake for almost 36 hours straight with no real food in her system – it showed. The craziness of the weekend was definitely getting to her and Punk noticed.

"You look horrible," Punk said as they rode the elevator up to the top floor. "Why don't you go back to the hotel and rest? There's only so many photos you can take of me signing shit."

"Your bus is picking us up here, remember?" Katie reminded him. "Plus we're already checked out. I'll just get some good editing in," she told him.

He shook his head at her, noticing now how stubborn she was, though it reminded him a lot of himself. He would often stay up through nights on end during his early indie days if it meant he could book a show and wrestle in front of people. She sat near him as they were put in the room, Punk signing posters upon posters, collectable figures, hats, plaques, shirts, and everything else under the sun. He tried making conversation with her but she was in a complete daze. God knows how many photos she had uploaded in the past two days – he hoped Stephanie was happy with how hard she worked this poor girl. He should call her right now and demand a raise for Katie, for putting up with all this bullshit. Usually it was the more experienced and tenured photographers who followed them this closely to events. Perhaps Stephanie believed in her, but perhaps, instead, she was testing her.

As Punk finished the last of the merchandise, he looked over at Katie, who was slumped over in her seat, her eyes threatening to close. He walked over to her and placed his hand gently on her shoulder, waking her up instantly.

"We can go now, Katie," he said quietly, shutting off her laptop for her and putting it in her bag while she watched in a daze.

"You're done?" she asked, obviously not hearing the first time.

"Yeah. Come on, let's go. The bus has probably been waiting for a while," he said. She stood up from her seat and threw her duffel bag over her shoulder. Punk grabbed his from the floor and strapped it across his body before leading Katie out the door and into the elevator.

In the elevator now, Punk watched as Katie readjusted her duffel bag over her shoulder and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes. He took out his phone to check what time it was. 1:30am. Not too early by his standards, but considering Katie hadn't slept in two days, he knew she was about to collapse. Before Punk could register another though he saw Katie's legs slowly begin to buckle and her whole body collapse onto the ground. He caught her immediately, but she hardly woke up from the impact.

She grumbled as she wiped her eyes. Her duffel bag fell off her shoulder. "Are you okay?" Punk asked her, seriously worried about her.

"So tired," she barely mouthed out. "I've had nothing to eat for the past two days besides those espressos."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Punk asked, clearly shocked. "Fuck Katie, are you crazy?"

"I just want to go to bed," she moaned. Punk went to grab her duffel bag but has he did she almost collapsed again. "Easy there," he said, holding her up with one hand while he took her duffel bag and draped it across his body, over his own shoulder.

While their duffel bags were on his left side, he picked Katie up and carried her, as if he was carrying a toddler. His arms were underneath her butt, supporting her to stay up, and her legs were wrapped around his torso. She stuffed her head into the crook of his neck and laid her hands on his other shoulder. They were still only halfway down the ridiculously long elevator ride from the top floor of the building. He could already feel her breathing soften, as they were now so close, and he was sure she was already sleeping.

Emerging from the elevator, Punk walked with Katie in his arms towards the back of the building, where he was told his bus (with Kofi in it) were waiting. Katie had woken up at this time and was now playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. "Are you okay?" he asked as he kicked open the door, seeing his bus.

"I'm sorry if I'm heavy," she mumbled.

He chuckled to himself. "I have to body slam your cousin for a living and you think you're heavy?" he asked her rhetorically. She sighed contently, a small smile on her face, not answering his question. He kicked at his bus door loudly, needing Kofi to come open it.

"Thanks Punk," she whispered. He could feel her lips on his neck. He bit his tongue to try and feel some pain, to subside whatever else he was feeling.

"Anytime, Princess," he said, the door opening suddenly. A tried looking Kofi was standing on the steps, but as soon as he saw and assessed what he saw in front of him, his eyes went wide. Punk ignored his look and climbed onto the bus, Katie still in his arms, Kofi still staring in astonishment. He immediately walked right to his room at the back of the bus and set Katie down on the bed. She stood up as Punk was taking their duffel bags off his shoulder and opened his closet, retrieving an old Chicago Blackhawks t-shirt and a pair of boxers before abruptly taking off her shirt and pants and leaving them on the floor. She slipped on the boxers and put on the t-shirt, Punk watching her every move, his breath caught in his throat. He gulped at the sight before him. She crawled into his bed and pulled the covers over her.

As quickly as he could Punk changed into an old t-shirt and shorts, and in that short time debated with himself whether or not he should climb into bed with her or go and sleep in a bunk. His 'man' side prevailed quickly as he found himself crawling into his side of the bed, pulling the blankets over him and Katie. As he shifted positions to get comfortable, Katie moved too; suddenly she had cuddled up next to him, grabbing his arm and draping it over her torso, burying her head in the crook of his neck again. Punk didn't know how to respond but didn't exactly protest. He held her close, not wanting to break the contact, and made sure she fell asleep before he drifted off into his own wildly happy slumber.

Kofi Kingston was not able to form coherent thoughts last night when he was awoken by Punk's kicking of the door, but this morning, all he could do was think about the situation at hand. Sure, it didn't involve him, but he was definitely collateral. He had made himself breakfast that morning early, knowing that Punk nor Katie would be awake after their brutal weekend. He had saved them a decent amount of food in case they got into Raleigh late and had no time to grab something to eat. After he had woken up he had taken a peak into Punk's room and saw them sleeping together: Katie was practically sleeping on top of Punk, using his chest as a pillow, and he had both his arms wrapped around her protectively. He sighed and went back to his breakfast, answering some texts from his buddies before turning on the TV and popping in a movie.

Kofi wasn't sure what he was going to say to Punk once he talked to him, but he knew something had to be said. He understood they were both grown adults capable of making decisions for themselves, but Sheamus still had a right to know – all this sneaking around would bite them in the ass in the end. He knew Punk probably wouldn't listen but it needed to be said anyway.

His phone vibrated on top of the kitchen countertop and he retrieved it quickly. It was a text from AJ.

_Where are you guys?_

_Still on the road. Punk finished late last night. Didn't start travelling till 1:30._

_Is Katie with you guys?_

_She sure is._

_I know that tone. Let me guess. Her and Punk are together right now watching movies, aren't they?_

_Not exactly..._

_...?_

_I don't know how much longer they're going to beat around the bush._

_What do you mean?_

_They're passed out on Punk's bed right now together. Punk's got her in his arms, she's got her head rested on his chest. The whole kit and caboodle._

_HOW CUTE!_

_Tell that to Sheamus._

_Don't even bring him up. If they like each other, they like each other._

_I know, but it's better he know now than later, you know what I mean?_

Suddenly Kofi heard the back door slide open. He turned his head to see Punk standing in the doorway, his hair disheveled.

"Is there any food? Katie hasn't eaten since Saturday," he said, rubbing his eyes.

"It's in the stove," Kofi said, nodding his head towards the direction of the kitchen. Punk opened the stove and retrieved the plates of food and brought them into his bedroom.

_Gotta go. They're awake. I'll see you soon._

Kofi stood up and made his way towards the back of the bus, knocking on the door to Punk's bedroom.

"I'm decent, don't worry," he heard Katie call out from the other side. He opened the door and saw them sitting on the bed together, Katie sitting in between Punk's legs, which were stretched out straight in front of him.

"You are an absolute god for making this food," she said, stuffing some scrambled eggs into her mouth. "You're the best."

"I had a feeling," Kofi smiled, leaning against the doorway. "Get enough sleep?"

Katie shook her head as she chewed on a mouthful of toast. "Gonna go back to bed after this. I just woke up because my stomach was grumbling so loudly. I could probably eat ten Big Macs right now if I wanted to."

"That's what I like to hear from a girl in the morning," Punk joked, getting a small nudge from Katie.

"Alright, well I'll be in the front if you guys need anything," Kofi said as he left the room and closed the door behind him.

As he made his way to the front of the bus, his phone buzzed again from the kitchen counter top. He picked it up, and saw that it was another text, this time from Sheamus.

_Katie's with you guys, right?_

_Yeap._

_Where is she?_

_In the bus._

_Funny. Where exactly is she?_

_In a bunk sleeping. Away from me. Away from Punk. Stop being so paranoid._

Xxxxx

Suuuuuuuper long chapter for you guys! So it's pretty obvious where this is going, but the drama is about to begin...:) Don't forget to review!


	9. Chapter 9

It was a blessing and a curse that Sheamus was predominately on Smackdown and only appeared on Raw during the various Supershows. If he was always on the Raw roster, he would have already caught on to Katie and Punk's rendezvous – always meeting up backstage, Katie sneaking onto Punk's bus after the show or riding with him back to the hotel. Kofi had immediately caught on ever since the New York media week and had promised to keep quiet, on the condition that Punk discuss things with Sheamus soon. John Cena knew from the beginning and had also promised to keep quiet, but on the same pretense as Kofi. Soon most superstars from Raw didn't blink twice when they saw Katie – or 'Sheamus' cousin' as some still knew her – and Punk talking together backstage or leaving together. It was the Raw roster's little secret, and common knowledge that Sheamus didn't know. It shocked most people to find out that someone had finally broken through Punk's hard shell; they were equally as shocked that Katie, of all people, would be the one to do it.

Katie had been talking to AJ backstage, who was already out of her ring gear. They had been discussing the New York media weekend and what exactly had transpired between Katie and Punk. AJ squealed at every little detail revealed, though she tried not to make it obvious to superstars who were passing by. AJ had become a good friend to Katie in a short period of time, and neither would dare breaking each other's trust. She continued to encourage Katie to 'go for the gold' with Punk, because it was obvious they had strong feelings for each other. Katie agreed with her but was still hesitant about the entire situation. She had never fallen for anyone this quickly before and had never been so bold with anyone; Katie was usually shy and reserved, but with Punk, she felt as if she could say anything, do anything, and be anyone she wanted.

Suddenly Katie felt herself being pulled back. She turned her head around to see Punk, all sweaty from his match, smiling down at her. He had hooked his fingers into the belt loops of her jeans and pulled her into him. "Give me twenty minutes," he said, taking his fingers out from the loops once Katie was leaning into him. "And you," he nodded his head at AJ. "Come with us tonight. I don't want you driving alone all through the night."

"Sounds good to me," AJ said, agreeing immediately.

"Go shower," Katie told him as she nodded her head in the general direction of his locker room. "You smell."

"You're horribly romantic," Punk teased her, covering his heart with his right hand. "I'm offended by that, you know!"

"Tough shit," she said, dismissing his comment. "Go shower so that your _stank_ doesn't reek up the bus."

Punk laughed and shook his head at her comment before walking off to his locker room. AJ had a sly smile on his face as he walked away. "I'm surprised you got away with that," she commented. "If it were most people he would have punched them. Seems like you're not 'most people' to him."

Katie shrugged her shoulders, not knowing what to say to AJ's comment. She knew AJ was right but didn't want to admit the fact. She and Punk hadn't talked at all about what was obviously going on between them, though she knew she had to soon. The flirting was becoming a bit too serious for Katie's liking to be considered just 'friendly'. Punk had to know. He _had_ to.

Kofi and Punk helped AJ and Katie haul their belongings onto the bus before the trusty driver, Tony, started driving through the streets towards the highway. The four sat around and ate some snacks as Katie finished her work of editing photos from the night and posting them onto the WWE website. They were sitting around the front of the bus – Katie and AJ were crammed on one side of the small table while Kofi sat in his usual seat and Punk was sprawled out on the couch. They were talking of nothing in particular; whatever came up in conversation, someone had something to say about it, which usually led to something else. Once the random topic of video games arose, Kofi had definitive thoughts.

"It's so hard to find a girl who actually likes and appreciates video games," he said, shaking his head. "That's why I like you," he nodded to AJ, "and you," he nodded to Katie, "because you guys like them too. You don't just talk about boys or your hair and nails and all the drama that may be going on."

"I remember my brothers saying that too," Katie said, laughing to herself. "They had the same complaints. They always said they could never find girls who could _understand_ their love for video games, let alone appreciate or embrace it."

"See! Exactly! Your brothers know what I'm talking about!" Kofi exclaimed, making everybody laugh. "What are they like, anyway? You've never really told us about them," Kofi mentioned, genuinely interested. "How many do you have again?"

"Four," Katie answered immediately. "Four older brothers."

"Wow," AJ said. "So what are they like?"

Katie shrugged her shoulders as she noticed all eyes were on her now. "What is there to say about my brothers...There's Daniel...he's the oldest. He's twelve years older than I am, which makes him 38, seeing as I'm 26," she began. "He was always the head brainiac of the family...he's a lawyer. He's got a beautiful wife Jessica, and his kids, Emma who is six and Oliver, who is four. Matt is next, he's the jokester. He's always playing pranks on everyone. I'd say he gave me the hardest time growing up because he would always torment me more than the rest," she continued, laughing to herself, remembering some of the shenanigans he would get into as a kid, and even as a teenager. "He's 36 and just got married last year to a girl named Arianna – thank God her smartened up enough to keep her. He's a geography teacher. There's Josh, who is the other brainiac – he's an engineer. He's 34. Total jock though, which is shocking because he's so smart. He got all these different scholarships when he was university; half of them were for academics, the other half were for sports. He's unreal. He's been dating this girl Emily for a while, and I actually think he's going to propose soon. Then there's Mark, who is 33. He's the quiet, more reserved one – a total bookworm."

"Jesus," Kofi commented. "So Mark's the youngest, yet he's still seven years older than you...that's a pretty big gap."

"I know," Katie nodded her head. "I was kind of the mistake child."

"Don't say that about yourself!" AJ exclaimed, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Well, okay...I wouldn't exactly say I was a _mistake_...my parents were never planning on having a fifth kid, but it happened, and when I came out and I was a girl, they were both over the moon," Katie corrected herself.

"And who are you closest with?" AJ asked.

"I honestly can't say. I'm remarkably close with all my brothers. They all fit the role of the traditional, protective, overbearing older brother but I wouldn't have it any other way. We all get along great. Daniel...Daniel is kind of like my second dad. Because he is so much older than me he always helped me and guided me along the way, especially during high school. Matt always taught me to never take life – or myself – too seriously, and I love him for it. Josh would beat up boys who broke my heart in high school and always encouraged me to go against the mold and do what I wanted, especially when it came to my photography. And Mark is just Mark...he taught me all my book smarts. He taught me how to apply myself and never give up."

"That's so sweet," AJ said. "I bet they treated you like a total princess."

"Not quite," Katie chuckled. "They treated me like I was just another guy. They would make me play hockey with them, or referee their 'wrestling' matches in the living room or the backyard. They weren't gentle with me at all. It made me develop a tough skin, I guess. And whatever they liked, I _had_ to like, no questions asked. If they liked a certain TV show and it was on during My Little Pony or whatever, I would have to watch it. Take, for instance, one Halloween, when I was two. Daniel went through this phase where all he listened to was punk music -"

"Your brother has great taste," Punk blurted out, causing everyone to laugh.

"I know! Anyway, so he went through this punk music phase, and for Halloween that year, didn't he and my brothers all dress up as members of The Clash from the Rock the Casbah video...and Daniel dressed me up as the armadillo from the video."

Punk burst out into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, clapping as he leaned down on the couch, clutching at his stomach. AJ and Kofi laughed as well, Katie burying her head in her hands with embarrassment. "I can never watch that video the same way again."

"Is there a video of this? Pictures? Anything?" Punk asked, still laughing.

"I'm positive my dad took tons of photos and videos. But they're locked up in a vault somewhere, never to be seen by anyone," Katie said.

"I don't know about that," Punk said, cocking his head to the side in a playful way. "If I get my hands on that, God knows what will happen."

"You _won't_ get your hands on it. That's the point," Katie countered.

The group continued talking about Katie's brothers and their own families. It delighted Katie to know that they liked her enough to share this information with her – that they were able to open up to her in such a short period of time. She could understand why Punk, AJ and Kofi were all close: they traveled together constantly, and when that happens, you're bound to become close to the people you travel with. Katie had only been traveling with them for a small, miniscule fraction of the time, yet they had accepted her as one of their own and had been so open with her. She felt so fortunate to have made these kinds of friends.

As AJ began telling stories of her beating her brothers in video games, Kofi challenged her to see if she could really live up to the stories she was telling, to which she readily accepted. Katie moved from her seat so AJ could get into her 'gamer' mode, and Punk rose from his seat so Kofi could get closer to the TV. Punk popped in 'Call of Duty' while AJ and Kofi put their headsets on, playfully calling each other names as they set up the game.

Katie smiled at them; in a weird way, they reminded her of her brothers, and the relationship she had with them. Before she could forget, she pulled out her camera and snapped a couple of pictures of Kofi and AJ playing, yelling and pointing at the screen, and even one of AJ going to smack Kofi upside the head. She did this all as Punk was behind her in the small kitchen, preparing some food so it would be ready to eat tomorrow morning.

Katie approached him and grabbed his arm, right below his elbow. He looked at her. "Are we gonna go to bed?" she asked quietly, making sure Kofi and AJ couldn't hear.

"Yeah," he nodded his head once, quickly finishing what he was doing before he stuffed the food inside the refrigerator. "We're off to bed," he announced to AJ and Kofi. "Just don't make too much noise, please."

"We promise, boss," Kofi waved him off, too enthralled with the game to pay Punk much attention.

Punk and Katie made their way to the back of the bus into his bedroom, where he immediately took off his shirt. Katie kneeled down on the floor, searching through her duffel bag to find her pajamas. "I'll go into the washroom and change," she said, opening the door.

Punk looked at her strangely. "It's not like you haven't changed in front of me before," he mentioned, a smirk on his face.

"I was lazy, hungry, and hadn't slept in two days then. I had a reason not to get up and cram myself in a small washroom to change into pajamas," she reasoned with him. "I've still gotta be classy, you know. I ain't giving out no free shows," she joked, making Punk laughed. _He only wished_.

When she came back into the bedroom Punk suppressed a groan. She had kept his Chicago Blackhawks t-shirt and boxers and was wearing them tonight. She looked inexplicably gorgeous in his clothes, even though the clothes were old, they were both tired, and it had been one hell of a day.

She smiled nervously as she saw his eyes light up. "I'm sorry I kept your clothes," she apologized. "They're comfy."

"You've got _nothing_ to apologize about," he told her as he watched her climb into bed with him. "You look good in my clothes."

The nervous smile never left Katie's face as she pulled the covers over her, suddenly the slightest bit self conscious that Punk was basically undressing her with his eyes. Despite this, she cuddled up to him instinctively. He wrapped his arm around her and played with the ends of her hair as she used his bare chest as a pillow.

Before she could sleep there was one thing Katie had to say to Punk. She raised her head and set her chin down on his chest, looking up at him. He moved his head slightly to look down at her. Though it was completely dark, he could still make out her features, from her long, thick eyelashes to the curve of her lips.

"I think I'm falling for you, Phil," she said in a barely audible whisper. She surprised herself by even saying it – she definitely had not planned this. He, of course, immediately picked up on the seriousness of it, as she had called him by his first name, and not the nickname he was so accustomed to.

"Good to know I'm not the only one falling for someone," he whispered back, kissing the crown of her head. He heard her let out a content sigh before lying her head down on his chest again and drifting off to sleep.

Xxxxx

Please review! I hope you enjoyed this update There is going to be some drama in the upcoming chapters, so be prepared...


	10. Chapter 10

Katie knew she shouldn't be outside Punk's dressing room door. She knew she shouldn't knock. She knew she shouldn't say what she had planned to say all day because it would just lead Punk to be scared off by her and her forwardness. She knew it had to be done but she didn't want to be the one to do it. Why did men never take the initiative to do these types of things themselves? Whatever. Now was not the time to think about that. She knocked three times. Moments later, Kofi came to the door. Not exactly who she was looking for, but she settled for it, knowing it would buy her more time.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Is Punk here?" she asked him, trying to see if he was warming up. Maybe if he was she could use it as an excuse to leave and buy more time.

"He's just changing, he'll be out in a minute," Kofi said, letting her in and shutting the door. Katie walked in but he noticed that something wasn't right with her. She was standing awkwardly, picking at her nails and looking around everywhere, wondering where Punk was going to come out from. If it was any other time or night, she would have waltzed right in and began taking pictures.

"What's wrong?" he asked, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine...I uh...I just need to...uh...you know..." she fumbled around with her words, pointing at nothing in particular.

Kofi was left guessing until the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "OH!" he exclaimed, eyes wide. "You're going to have _the talk_ with Punk, aren't you?" he asked, quiet enough so Punk wouldn't be able to hear. Katie was only able to nod her head. Kofi looked at her strangely. "Why the hell are you nervous?" he asked her.

She was obviously taken aback by his question. "What the hell do you mean? These kinds of talks aren't exactly walks in the park," she argued.

"You think Punk is gonna turn you down after all that shameless flirting that's being going on between you two?" Kofi asked rhetorically, to which Katie could only sulk at. "You've got to be kidding me. Don't even get me started on your night time cuddling – OW!"

Katie had pinched him hard on the arm, making him wince and back away from him. "Damn woman, you mean business!" he exclaiming, rubbing the area.

"I'm not kidding around Kofi!" she exclaimed quietly. "This is serious!"

"Katie, listen to me," Kofi said, placing both of his hands on her shoulders, standing in front of her. "I am going to tell you something, and you _cannot_ repeat it to anyone. Especially Punk. I'm pretty sure I'm breaking bro-code here, but at this point I don't care." Katie looked up at him with a worried expression on her face. "He likes you Katie. I mean it. No – scratch that. He more than just likes you. By this point you have him wrapped around your little finger," Kofi told her.

Katie gulped. The realization of what Kofi said dawned on her slowly as he took his hands off her shoulders and proceeded to walk towards the door. "I hope that gives you the confidence boost you need right now," Kofi said as he opened the door. "You'll do fine, kid. Just be yourself. That's all Punk ever wants from anybody."

As if on cue, when Kofi shut the door, Punk emerged, ready in his ring gear. He was taken aback slightly when he saw Katie in the room, but soon a smile appeared on his face. "What's up?" he asked.

"I need to tell you something," she said, picking at her nails again as a serious look adorned Punk's face. "Something needs to happen, or else all this...everything that we're doing...it needs to stop," she began, taking a deep breath in. "I'm not that type of girl, okay? And I don't want you getting that idea of me. I don't usually do this stuff. But with you...it's different. I don't know why, and I don't know how, but it just is. I've only ever had one boyfriend before, so I'm not exactly experienced at this sort of stuff either," she told him, almost embarrassed. "If we decide that this is going to happen, you need to know that. It's only fair. You need to know that I'm not easy; that everything may not always be peachy keen; that I have four overprotective older brothers who – while you can probably kick their asses individually – they will collectively not hesitate to murder you and bury the body somewhere in the Canadian Arctic should anything happen to me. You need to know that despite me being open with you guys, I'm actually a shy and reserved person, but that I'm smart as hell and strong willed and not afraid to voice my opinion if need be. It's obvious that we both have feelings for each other, given the events that have happened in the past weeks, but we need to make this official or else everything has to stop. I'm not going to be made a fool of and -"

Suddenly Punk's lips crashed onto hers to stop her rambling and she was drowning in the rush of emotions she felt. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped hers around his neck before Punk let go of the kiss first, looking into her eyes.

"For the life of me Katie, I don't know what it is about you that makes me so damn crazy," he said, leaning his forehead on hers. "I want this to happen – I've wanted this to happen so bad for the last little while. But only if you're comfortable. I don't want you to feel as if you're risking your job, okay? Because you're not. These things happen all the time here and I want you to be confident that we can make it through the craziness that comes along with working for this company."

Katie smiled before pulling Punk down again and kissing him quickly. "I have to get back," she said regretfully, not wanting the moment to end. "I'll see you throughout the show though, right?" she asked.

"Of course," Punk smiled at her as he let her go. He watched her as she left, closing the door behind her. When she was gone he could no longer suppress the large grin that had formed on his face.

Throughout the show John noticed that something was different with Katie. Though she was her usual self, there was the slightest extra bounce in her step as she walked around backstage, taking pictures of everyone. He watched her discreetly as she chatted with various people such as Dolph and the Miz, joking with them. He watched as she seemed to review the photos on her camera, but clearly her mind was somewhere else. Nobody smiled that much at a camera screen, regardless of how good some pictures were. Soon he saw Sheamus approach her and hug her. John lowered the volume in his headphones to hear their conversation.

"Seeing as it's a supershow a bunch of us are gonna head out tonight," Sheamus told his cousin. "You should come! It'll just be at a bar down the street, nothing too fancy."

"I want to, but these pictures need to be uploaded. I've got to do them all tonight," she told her cousin.

Fair enough, John thought. She had used the excuse before, but she was in the clear to use it – her work didn't end when Raw was over. John thought nothing of it.

"Well if you finish early, come on over," Sheamus offered as he began to stretch. "We'll all love having you there."

Suddenly John felt a smack on his shoulder and turned around to see Punk, who had come to the area to warm up as well. John greeted him but went back to warming up as Punk walked over to the Miz and Dolph to go over a few spots for the match. As he talked to them, John couldn't help but notice Katie perk up even more and watch Punk as he talked with his fellow wrestlers. Punk kept looking over at her, and when he did, Katie would hide her smile and look back down at her camera.

The realization hit John abruptly, and he looked over at Punk, shaking his head at him. Punk finally got the girl. It was about fucking time. He knew Katie and Punk had a thing going, but this..._this_ was taking it to a whole new level. He was happy for the lovebirds; now he was able to torment them all he wanted.

Katie snapped a few more pictures of the boys warming up before moving on. Dolph and the Miz also left the area, probably to get their robes and hoodies for their entrance. John took his quick chance to go up to Punk and slap him on the shoulder.

"What do you want?" Punk asked.

"You dog, you," John smiled devilishly.

Punk looked at John strangely. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I could cut the sexual tension between you two with a knife," John whispered, knowing already that Punk, nor Katie, probably wanted anyone to know. "It finally happened, didn't it?" John asked.

"Well we're together, if that's what you want to know," Punk surrendered, knowing he couldn't keep much from one of his best friends. "But that stays between us."

John smiled as he went to put on his headphones. "Now I know who to call when I need to find her...not that much has changed," he said, garnering a playful shove by Punk.


	11. Chapter 11

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us, Katie?" Sheamus asked one more time before the group were going to depart for the bar.

"If I'm done early, I'll definitely make my way over," Katie said, patting her cousin on the arm. He was standing outside her doorway, waiting for AJ, trying to convince her one more time to come out. "Go have fun. I'll call you if anything."

"Alright..." Sheamus said, defeated. AJ emerged from the bathroom ready to go. She left with Sheamus down the hallway towards the elevators, Katie watching them as they walked away from her. She finally shut the door and returned to her laptop that was on her desk. Her phone buzzed from beside her laptop and she picked it up immediately.

_Go get em, tiger!_ A quick message from AJ flashed across the screen. Katie had already told AJ, who had squealed and jumped up and down like a crazy person. Katie laughed to herself as she went back to work on her laptop, editing and uploading photos. Her phone buzzed again. Sure it was AJ, she picked up the phone again.

_I'll give you an hour. After that you're all mine._ It was a text message from Punk, eager to see her. She smiled to herself as she thought of something clever to say to him.

_Your Blackhawks shirt appreciates your forwardness. It'll be glad to see you._

Surprisingly enough, Katie was done in less time than she had imagined. All her best photos were uploaded in record time, and she had even gotten a quick text from Stephanie commending her of her work. She quickly changed into Punk's Blackhawks shirt and boxers – her new favourite sleepwear – before waiting for him on her bed, deleting the pictures off her camera. When she heard the knock on her door, she shot up and ran over.

Punk didn't even greet her before he planted a giant kiss on her, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her up off the floor. She snickered at this, smiling into his kisses as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He backed her up against the wall before lowering his head and planting kisses all along her neck.

"If fans knew how much of a softie you are, you'd be jobbing in no time," she joked, garnering a grunt from Punk, who had now stopped kissing her.

"Why would you even say that?" he asked her in a joking manner. "I'm trying to be all romantic and you pull that!"

"Romantic? I would hardly call not greeting me at the door and just going for it 'romantic'," she teased, moving away from him. She looked back at him and smiled as he still stood near the wall.

"I am a man. Those types of things are romantic to us," he said, noticing that her laptop was still turned on and opened to the WWE website. "Can I see your pictures?"

"Of course," she sat as he sat down at the desk and scrolled through the photos on the website.

After he saw them all he picked up her camera from beside the laptop. "You should show me how to use this thing," he commented, fiddling around with the camera. "There's so much going on here. I'm still trying to learn the simple point-and-shoot."

Katie smiled as she walked over to him and sat on his lap abruptly. She nestled her head into the crook of his neck so they could both be at the same level; he wrapped his arm around her and began rubbing her exposed thigh with his hand before she held the camera out in front of them to show him the basics of how it worked. She could feel him looking more at her than he was at the camera, but she didn't object. When she was finished he grabbed the camera from her hands and quickly snapped a picture of her.

"That must have come out horrible," she commented. Punk was relentless, however, and continued to snap away. "Stop it! Seriously!" she complained, covering his face with one hand while the other tried to snatch the camera away from Punk.

"Come on! Let me take pictures of my girl," Punk pleaded.

Katie knew the only way to make him stop was to kiss him, so she did just that. He immediately gave into her and began kissing her back, shifting her position on him so now she was straddling his lap. He eventually lifted her up and brought her to her bed, laying her down and climbing on top of her. They continued this for a while, Katie feeling _physically_ that Punk was enjoying the experience. She took off his shirt to reveal his toned body. She turned him over so now she was on top of him, his hands wandering underneath the Blackhawks shirt.

Suddenly she broke away from the kiss, and in one swift movement she grabbed her camera off the nightstand and took a picture of him.

"What the...what...Katie!" he complained, exasperated. She continued to snap photos of him. "What are you doing?"

Katie giggled as she zoomed in on the tattoos of his chest and snapped a picture. "If you got to take pictures of your girl, then I get to take pictures of my boy," she smiled innocently.

"But...now?" he asked, resting his hands on her exposed thighs. "Come on!"

Katie continued to smile as she climbed off Punk, taking some more pictures of him. She kissed him on the cheek and extended her arm out so she could take a picture of the pose as well. "What, are we taking Myspace pictures now?" he groaned, though he was smiling. He pulled her back on top of her as she continued to giggle.

"You're a little devil," he commented. "You're unbelievable."

Suddenly her phone buzzed from the nightstand and she leaned over Punk to get it.

_No luck at the bar. We're in the elevator. Shamu's with me and he wants to check on you. _John Cena had sent her a quick message. Katie immediately went into panic mode as she jumped off of Punk. "You have to hide," she said quickly.

"What?" he asked, rising from the bed.

"John and Sheamus are coming. You have to hide, GO!" she said, pulling him over to the washroom and closed the door. She quickly set up her laptop to make it look like she was working before she heard a knock on the door. She went to open it and saw John, AJ and Sheamus.

She let them in and Sheamus asked her the usual questions before peering onto her laptop and checking the photos on the website. John sat down on her bed texting someone while AJ took her pajamas out of her suitcase.

"Anyone know how Punk's doing? He was saying he felt sick, that's why he didn't come out tonight," Sheamus asked, looking for answers from John or AJ. The mention of Punk's name made Katie nervous.

"I bet he's fine," John said, shooting a quick look at Katie. "The guy eats the healthiest out of all of us. He probably concocted something to ease his stomach and help him sleep tonight."

Sheamus shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head, accepting John's reasoning before announcing to everyone he was going back to his room. With a couple of waves and hugs, Sheamus was gone, John and AJ remaining in the room.

"Are you gonna go too, John?" Katie asked innocently as the door shut from Sheamus' leave.

He smiled a large, shit-eating grin. Katie stood stationary, not knowing why he was doing so. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"Not until I see loverboy," he said.

"Loverboy? Who are you talking ab -"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT EVER AGAIN, CENA!" Punk's voice was heard yelling from the bathroom. John burst out into a fit of giggles as Punk emerged from the washroom. AJ stood with her mouth gaped open. Katie looked horrified.

"I knew it! I fucking knew it!" John smiled. He looked over at Punk and began laughing again. "Were you two doing something or are you just excited to see me?" Cena asked him.

Punk looked down and immediately covered the area Cena was referring to. Katie looked even more horrified as AJ continued to scream 'oh my God!' over and over again, laughing so much she was clutching her stomach.

"Stop it! You're horrifying my girlfriend," Punk tried to say seriously, trying to suppress his laughter at the entire situation at hand. Katie had buried her face in her hands and was leaning up against the wall.

"This is too good, too good," Cena shook his head. "Hey Katie, is he the best in the world in other things as well?"

"CENA!" AJ chastised him as she slapped him upside the head. "How could you be so crude?"

Katie burst out in laughter at the question, Punk shaking his head at his best friend. "Come on! It's a legitimate question!" Cena reasoned, pointing at the couple. "I hoped he man-scaped for you, Katie. He can get quite hairy if he doesn't wax."

"You would know, huh John?" Katie asked without missing a beat. "I bet it was you two cuddling in his bed before I came along."

"HEY!" Punk objected, watching as AJ walked over to Katie and gave her a high-five. John bowed his head in shame. AJ collected her pajamas and walked towards the washroom to change.

"So...it goes without saying that this doesn't leave this room," Katie felt obliged to say to Cena.

"In all seriousness Katie, don't worry...your secret is safe with me," Cena said, rising from his seat on the bed. "But...please, talk to Sheamus about it soon. The longer this goes on, the deeper of a hole you're going to get in with him."

"I know John," Katie admitted, hanging her head in shame. Punk had taken a hold of her shirt and pulled her into him so that he could hold her. "He's not going to be happy about it though."

"He may not be," John started, "but this is your life Katie. He may not like it but he can learn to accept it. And the sooner you tell him, the sooner he'll accept it," he said, looking at Punk as well. John wanted him to know that the responsibility was not all on Katie.

"I will John, I promise," she said. "But until then, the secret stays with us."

John nodded his head and said his goodbyes before going back to his room. AJ came out of the washroom and Punk took that as his cue to leave.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning," he whispered as he kissed her on the lips. She stood on her toes and kissed him back before walking towards the door and opening it for him. Before stepping through the door he kissed her quickly one last time.

"Softie," she teased him as she held the door open.

"Apparently not," he said, motioning to his pelvic area, making Katie burst out one more time in laughter. Music to his ears.

Xxxxx

Thanks for your reviews! As you can probably tell I enjoy writing this story WAY too much :P What do you guys think? Will Katie talk to Sheamus, or will Punk? What will his reaction be? We'll see...


	12. Chapter 12

"Stop it," Katie mumbled incoherently as she began to look through pictures in her camera. Punk had been bothering her since they arrived at the arena earlier in the day. Another Raw Supershow was happening tonight, which meant Sheamus was around.

"Come on," she felt Punk smile as he continued to kiss the back of her neck. "I need some good luck smoochies before my match tonight."

"Smoochies?" Katie asked, turning her head to see him. "What are you, six?"

"I will start to act like it if I don't get some lovin'," Punk commented, making Katie chuckle.

She turned back around to focus on her camera but that only made Punk begin to kiss her again. "Tonight Punk, I swear, I'm all yours," she said, trying to get him to stop.

"Not good enough," he whispered in her ear before nibbling on it. She laughed to herself again before she gave in, turning around and planting a giant kiss on Punk.

It had been almost a month and a half of, quite frankly, pure bliss with Punk, but Katie was ashamed to say she _still_ hadn't mentioned the relationship to Sheamus. He was oblivious about the entire thing, though much of the Raw roster knew. Though John had promised to keep quiet, as did Kofi, both were becoming restless about the situation – and Katie knew. They kept pestering her and Punk about telling Sheamus but she never went through with her plans. She would get too nervous, or something would come up, or she would just be too damn scared to tell him. Not even her _brothers_ knew yet, and that was saying something. They were usually the first ones to know about anything.

"That's more like it," Punk smiled as he pulled away.

"We should tell my cousin tonight," Katie blurted out. Punk looked taken aback for second. "He seemed really happy when I talked to him earlier today. Plus he's going to win his match tonight, so that will keep him in a happy mood."

Punk nodded his head. "What are you going to say?"

"I'm just going to invite him over to hang out in my room after the show. You'll be there. And then we'll just...tell him," she offered, making up the plan as she went along. Straight and to the point – no funny business. "He should know by this point."

"Whatever you want to do, I'll do it," Punk said as he kissed her one last time. "I'm going to go warm up. I'll see you around, okay?" Katie nodded her head and watched as Punk left the room, probably to find Kofi, Cena, or even Zack Ryder to help him warm up. Katie continued looking through her pictures before opening her laptop and organizing them in different folders.

As she kept organizing her photos she heard a light knock on her door. She turned around to see Sheamus, already in his ring gear, smiling at her. "I thought I'd pay you a visit before the show starts," he said, walking into the room. "Cena told me where I'd find you."

"Grab a seat," she said, quickly closing the secret folder she had filled with pictures of her and Punk. "You can watch me do the oh-so exciting process of editing photos," she smiled. He took a seat beside her and peered at her computer. "Why don't we hang out after the show?" she asked. "It's been a while. We can watch a movie in my room or something, and you can eat junk food with me and cheat on your diet," she offered, hoping he'd accept.

"I'd like that," Sheamus nodded his head, smiling at his cousin. "Just make sure no-one lures you to go out and you switch plans on me. Now that you offered, I'm really looking forward to it."

Sheamus seemed genuinely interested in the process Katie undertook to edit her photos and post them to the website. He had no clue about anything to do with photography, so everything was new to him. He understood why the fans were completely eating up Katie's photos – they were _good_, better than some of the other photographers who had been working for the company for years. She just had a natural way with the camera.

Sheamus had asked to see other photos that 'didn't make the cut' to the website, so Katie opened the folder for him and let him browse. She took a picture of him smiling at the screen of her laptop before disappearing to the washroom before the show began.

As she washed her hands she heard a loud bang come from the room, but thought nothing of it. As she emerged from the washroom she noticed the door swinging on its hinges and Sheamus nowhere to be seen. Upon closer inspection, she saw that the doorknob had made a crack on the wall from being slammed so hard. She looked around the room to see her laptop and camera still in place. Her breath caught in her throat suddenly when she noticed the picture on the screen of the laptop. It was one of her kissing Punk's cheek as they were in bed together. She immediately crouched down in front of her laptop, panicking, going back and viewing all the photos Sheamus just saw. One close-up of Punk's chest tattoos; one of them with their arms around each other from a night out; a few of Katie sitting in Punk's lap during a horror movie night they had with John, Kofi, Zack Ryder and AJ; a few more of Punk and Katie doing stupid, juvenile things in each other's hotel rooms, often in romantic or compromising positions. She felt sick to her stomach. Then she realized:

_Sheamus is going after Punk._

Xxx

Punk had already met with John to talk about Raw tonight before disappearing to his locker room to warm up. Kofi was nowhere to be seen, and Punk revelled in the fact that he was alone to warm up. He could put on his music, get pumped, and kick some ass tonight. He set his phone down on the bench as he began his exercises, stretching in the pattern he did for years.

Though he was definitely nervous about Katie wanting to tell Sheamus about their relationship tonight, he didn't want Katie to see that he was. He didn't want Sheamus to win. He knew he would be mad, but hopefully Sheamus would see how much he cared for her, and how happy Katie was, and set his feelings aside for the happiness of his cousin. He was almost always a pessimist, but in this situation – and regarding anything to do with Katie – he was often an optimist. She had done something to him, and his friends began to take notice.

As he was finishing up his stretching his phone buzzed from the bench. He decided to finish his two minute plank before walking over and seeing a text from Katie.

_Run._

What in the world did that mean? Did she want to go for a run after the show? He thought she wanted to talk to Sheamus. Maybe she meant to send it to someone else? This was weird. He decided not to text back immediately, but instead put his phone back down on the bench and continue his stretching.

Xxx

Katie was running through the hallways as if she was running a marathon. She already felt light headed, just imagining what was going to happen next. She felt sick to her stomach, knowing she should have been open about it this entire time and not gone behind his back. Maybe if she had been more open about it, he would have been more accepting? It was too late to tell now. She knew now she had made a huge mistake.

As she turned a corner, she saw John, Kofi and the Miz speaking to each other, probably about what was to happen on Raw tonight. "Where's Punk's room?" she asked as she was still running towards them, exasperated.

Kofi pointed down the hallway. "What's wrong?" he asked, seeing the look of fear in her eyes.

"Sheamus knows."

All three men's faces instantly dropped. John let out an 'Oh, _fuck!_' before all three men followed behind Katie, who was running down the hallway. Suddenly she saw Sheamus appear from the other side of the corridor and barge into Punk's room. She called out his name, but he didn't stop.

Katie ran into the room just in time to see Sheamus grab Punk's sweater and practically throw him up against the wall. For a moment Punk had a terrified look on his face as Sheamus began to scream at him in fury.

"You fucking LIAR!" Sheamus yelled, shoving Punk again into the wall, who was trying to fight back from Sheamus' grip. "You LIAR! I told you not to go near her!" he continued to yell. At this point, John and Kofi had pulled Sheamus off Punk, who was held back by the Miz. Katie stood between the two men, a horrified look on her face. "I told you she was off limits!" Sheamus screamed again.

"Stephen! Please!" Katie screamed suddenly. "It wasn't him! I came on to him! He had nothing to do with it!" she tried to pin it all on herself. "It was me, it was all me!"

"It takes two to fucking tango," he growled, trying to go after Punk again. Luckily John had quick reflexes and was able to hold Sheamus back. John kept telling Sheamus to calm down but he wasn't listening. Punk didn't really need the Miz to hold him back, as he wasn't trying to go after Sheamus, but Miz stayed between them for good measure. God forbid Sheamus broke through the John Cena – Kofi Kingston wall.

"Listen, this just _happened_," Punk tried to explain, but Sheamus wasn't hearing any of it.

"I'm not fucking speaking to you, am I?" he asked rhetorically. "You both fucking lied to me. _Both_ of you."

"I can make my own decisions, you know," Katie tried to reason with her cousin. "I'm a grown woman capable of making my own decisions. You think I didn't think this through? You think I didn't fight with myself over the feelings I had for him?"

"You promised me you'd stay away from the talent!"

"Stephen, please...it wasn't supposed to be like this," Katie said, her voice suddenly shaking. "I'm sorry for lying but -"

"Remember what happened the last time you lied, Katie?" Sheamus blurted out, not realizing what he was saying. "How well did that work out for you, huh?"

Katie stood between the altercation with a horrified look on her face. Had those words really just come out of her cousin's mouth? Everybody was staring at her now – Punk, John, Miz, and Kofi – all looking for answers. What did he mean by that? What was he talking about? Only Sheamus and Katie knew. She felt her face burn and a tingling sensation moving from the bottom of her spine to the top of her neck. By this point John and the Miz had let go of Sheamus, who was now focused only on Katie, not on Punk.

As if on cue, Sheamus' face turned from one of anger to one of fear. "Shit, Katie, I didn't mean -"

She ran towards him and slapped him. _Hard._ Right across the face, she had slapped her own cousin in front of some of her best friends, who were now more confused than ever. She even got a few punches in – not that they hurt Sheamus – across his face and chest before John grabbed her with one arm and pulled her away. "I fucking _hate_ you," she spat at Sheamus, tears now rolling down her face. "Do you hear me? _I. Fucking. Hate. You,_" she pointed her finger at him as John set her down. "I _never_ want to speak to you again!" she exclaimed, tears now rolling down her face. "How dare you say that to me! After all the therapy and everything my brothers and my dad have done to make me feel better about it, you say that to me?"

She took her camera off her neck and handed it to John. "Do whatever the fuck you want with that. Be the photographer for tonight," she said, making it clear that she was not working tonight. She turned around one last time and pointed to Sheamus. "If you even _dare_ come anywhere near me, I swear to God I will call Paul or Stephanie."

Four men in the room stared at Katie as she walked away with confused looks on their faces. Only one had a face of utmost regret.

Xxxxx

Dun dun duuuunnn! So Sheamus now knows, and his reaction was to be expected...but why did Katie get so angry at him for his comment? You'll see next chapter!


	13. Chapter 13

Understandably, nobody involved in the drama that had happened backstage had a good night. Punk couldn't stop thinking about what Katie had said, and how torn up she was about what her cousin had yelled at her. She went to therapy? For what? How serious was it? He was beginning to get sick just thinking about the possibilities that could have happened to her. If he didn't have contractual obligations he would have gone after her – and he probably should have, despite those obligations – but in the heat of the moment he was too confused to know what to do; when he finally realized what had just happened and went looking for Katie, she was already gone. Though he had won his match he knew he didn't put in his best effort. Even winning the match couldn't put him in a better mood. His mind was elsewhere and would continue to be until he got to the bottom of things.

Sheamus was also distraught, and wouldn't speak to anybody. He had botched his brogue kick during the match and almost injured his opponent and wasn't even seen anywhere backstage until right before. Cena had tried to find him but he was nowhere to be seen. He could only imagine what Sheamus was going through if Katie had gotten that mad at him. She never got angry often, and the fact that she was crying spoke volumes of the situation.

As everybody packed up and made their way towards the buses, Punk had tried to text Katie, but she didn't answer. He prayed she was at the hotel but wasn't so sure. Kofi and the Miz tried to assure him she wasn't the type of person to do anything drastic but Punk wasn't convinced. He just wanted the bus to speed down the streets so he could be with Katie, and so she could explain to him what was going on.

As they arrived at the hotel Punk was the first one out of the bus and into the hotel. He frantically pushed the button for the elevator about 25 times before the doors finally opened. Sprinting down the hallway, he shoved the key card into the door before opening it and walking in. He wanted right away to demand what had happened, but the scene before him meant he couldn't.

Katie was lying on the bed in a fetal position, her eyes still red from crying, and she was talking to someone on the phone. Punk stood at the edge of the bed and sighed heavily before walking around the bed and lying down next to her. He wrapped his arm around her and held her close, knowing it would comfort her; when she responded and snuggled into him, he felt the smallest sense of relief wash over him. He overheard some of her conversation but didn't dare to interject at any point.

"I don't think I'm going to talk to him for a while," she said to whoever was on the other line. Punk heard a muffled voice and couldn't quite make out what the person was saying. "I know, I know, but I don't want to...like I said, he's from Judy's side so that's what made it so bad...I know he doesn't really think that...I know...I know, it's not my fault. It's just hard...Okay. Alright, well I'm gonna go. It's getting late and I haven't had much sleep...It's not my fault, I know...Okay. Say hi to everyone for me please. I love you...Okay. Bye," Katie ended the call and stretched around to set it on the end table. She turned back towards Punk and kissed him, which he readily responded to. When she pulled away, she sighed heavily.

"I'm going to go wash my face," Katie announced before beginning to roll of the bed.

"We're going to talk about what happened, right?" Punk asked, watching her.

She looked at him and nodded her head slightly before walking to the washroom and closing the door behind her. Punk took this time to change out of his clothes and into his pajamas, sitting upright on the bed as he waited for Katie to finish. When she finally emerged from the washroom she had already changed into her pajamas; he could also see that she still had tears in her eyes. He patted on the spot beside him but instead she draped her leg over him and sat on his lower abdomen while his knees supported her back.

"I'm not hurting you, am I?" she asked as she placed her hands on his chest.

"You're a feather," he said, smiling slightly as he placed his hands on her exposed thighs and rubbing them with his thumbs. He waited for her to begin explaining but he could see he was having trouble on where to start. "So...what was that about?"

"Have you ever noticed..." Katie began, stopping mid sentence. She shook her head to herself and began again. "Whenever I talk about my family...have you ever noticed how I never mention...my mom?"

Punk was mentally kicking his own ass for not noticing sooner. He nodded his head at her comment so she would continue.

"So, as you know, I am the youngest and I am a girl. Judy...Judy is my mom – well I mean, she's the woman who gave birth to me," Katie began, wiping a tear that was already falling from her eye. "Judy was quite a vain person from the beginning – she always wanted to mould me into something I wasn't. She wanted me to be really girly, but growing up with four older brothers, that just wasn't going to happen. She enrolled me in dance and I ended up loving it, and she latched on to this idea that I was going to be the best dancer in Toronto or something. I always remember her being really hard on me for no apparent reason about everything I did, and my dad would try and talk to her about it, but she would never listen. She made me start ballet really early and I was really good at it. Like, _really good_. I won all these competitions and summer camp scholarships at these prestigious studios. That's where my hyper-extended knee comes from. She became really aggressive and controlling about my dancing and even made me start en pointe early, because she thought I would have a competitive advantage."

Punk's had rose and wiped another tear that had escaped from Katie's eyes. She grabbed his hand and intertwined her fingers with his. "When I was eleven I started complaining about my knee, which was a result of starting pointe early, but she ignored me and worked me even harder, telling me real ballerinas never complained about the pain. She made me work so hard for this one scholarship, but I didn't end up getting it. She was really upset. She...she just told me to my face one day, 'You're a failure. You've failed me,' and that _killed_ me, because all I ever wanted to do was make her happy. After that audition I went back to my own ballet studio to train for a role, but I ended up taking a bad fall and tearing my ACL. That's mostly why my knee hurts from time to time...that and the pressure of premature pointe fucked up my leg muscles. Then the extent of the injury was revealed, and because it was so bad, I could never dance competitively again. Anyway, she uh...she left my family shortly after that," Katie revealed, shocking Punk. "Like, completely left. One weekend my brothers, my dad and I came back from a fishing trip and all her stuff was gone, and we never heard from her again."

"Oh my God, Katie..." Punk whispered.

"I learned later that she had my dad had been having problems for a while. She was apparently cheating on him, and that's the real reason why she left, but of course, due to the timing of things, my twelve year old brain was convinced it was my fault she left...I wasn't good enough for her. She _told_ me I wasn't good enough for her; her one and only _daughter_ wasn't good enough. So when Sheamus made the comment about lying, he was referring to when I was lying about not feeling the pain in my knee anymore when in reality, it was getting worse. I told my mom it had went away when it really didn't which made the ACL tear all the more worse than it should have been. I know her leaving wasn't my fault, but there's always going to be the smallest part of my brain that thinks it was my fault, no matter how much therapy I go through or how many times my dad and my brothers tell me she was a horrible person from the beginning. That's why I got so mad. I don't usually think of her and don't want her brought up, and because he did, I got really upset."

"I am so sorry that had to happen to you," Punk whispered as he wrapped his hands around her and pulled her into his chest. "You don't deserve that."

"I don't want you to feel sorry for me," Katie said, rising from his chest. "It made me into who I am today. I honestly don't think I would be where I am today without that happening to me. Yeah, it's a shitty situation, but I learned to be tough. I probably would have turned out worse if she was still around. My brothers tell me she wasn't the best parent and that my dad did a lot of the parenting around the house. I have no reservations saying that my dad is the best dad in the world because he was able to raise five successful kids all on his own while working a full-time job and still making dinner every night for everyone. I just..." she began to cry again, thinking about all the sacrifices her father made for her and her brothers.

"Shhh, it's okay, I understand," Punk said.

Katie tried to calm down before continuing her explanation. "Stephen is my cousin through Judy's side. Even _they_ have no idea where she's been for all these years," she said, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand. "Nobody knows where she is. I know Stephen didn't mean what he said but it really hit home because he's the one that's related to her. I know he'd never take her side or anything...but again...my fucked up brain..."

She curled into Punk's chest again as he wrapped his arms around her and moved them up and down her back, trying to calm her. "You _are_ a strong person Katie, I know it. Considering the situation what you did earlier is completely acceptable -"

"I shouldn't have slapped my cousin," she cut him off. "That was horrible of me."

"Well I can tell you that he's really torn up about what he said. Nobody could find him tonight until his match," Punk told her. "Do you think you want to talk to him so you two can clear up what happened?"

"Not really," Katie admitted, finally climbing off of Punk and laying down beside him. "That was Mark who I was talking to earlier. He calmed me down about the entire situation...told me Stephen's a typical Irishman with the trademark Irish temper," she smiled slightly. "I just want to lay here with you right now. I can deal with him later."

Punk's only option was to give in. He pulled the covers over them and wrapped his arms protectively around his girlfriend before listening to her fall asleep in his arms.

Xxxxx

Well, here it is...I know shit got serious in this chapter, but I promise things get better from here...for a bit, at least ;) Let me know what you think!


	14. Chapter 14

Sorry for the lack of updates this week! I got a second job helping out at my old art school, and I was dealing with a special needs child all day...it was very challenging and left me dead tired at the end of the day, but it was such a rewarding experience. Anyway, that job is done now so it should get back to regular updating! To make up for the lack of updates, here is an extra long chapter. I want to thank you all SO MUCH again for your reviews and positive feedback for this story. Keep them coming!

Xxxxx

The next morning Katie woke up still wrapped in Punk's arms. She raised her head and looked at him, still sleeping silently. She thought about everything she had told him last night, things she told almost no-one else, and how he had handled it all so well. He didn't say much but she didn't mind – the fact that he was listening was good enough for her. Not a lot of people could handle being told something like that – most would think it was 'too much baggage' and run away – but it comforted her that Punk listened, stayed, and understood her situation. It meant more than anything to her that he was still here with her and not somewhere else.

Punk shifted slightly beneath her before opening his eyes slowly and surveying the room around him. He looked down to see Katie smiling slightly at him, and he smiled back. "Good morning," he mumbled in his tired voice, resting his head back down on the pillow.

"Good morning," she whispered. She moved above him and propped her head up against her arm. Punk turned towards her and looked at her. "I'm sorry for last night," she apologized.

"There's no need to apolog-"

"But I also want to say thank you," she interrupted him by putting her finger on his lips. "Most people would have been freaked out by that revelation. You handled it like a champ."

Punk shrugged his shoulders as if everything that she said last night wasn't a big deal. "Everybody has a history, and everybody has a side to them that they don't know," he said. "I've got issues with my parents too. We all do; some just run deeper than others," he continued, pulling Katie on top of him. "I just don't want you ever thinking that you're not good enough, because you are. I don't want what your mom said fifteen years ago to affect you now."

Katie couldn't believe she had gotten so lucky with him. Of course he was never known to be a romantic, especially to the fans of the WWE, but she enjoyed this side of him. He was still a sarcastic ass and a loveable jerk, but one that could ultimately make you feel like the most important person in the world.

She kissed him passionately, wanting to show that she appreciated his sentiment, and he reciprocated full speed ahead. Soon they couldn't stop, kissing each other anywhere they saw fit. Punk had switched positions so he was above her and began kissing down her neck and onto her collarbone. Katie sighed heavily as he did so, running her fingertips down his back and playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. Soon, both their shirts were off.

A loud knock suddenly interrupted them and Punk groaned loudly, temporarily stopping him from kissing Katie. "If we ignore whoever it is they'll go away," Punk reasoned quickly before beginning to kiss Katie again. She laughed as he worked on her neck and collarbone again before going lower.

The loud knock persisted but soon they heard a voice scream from the other side. "I know you two are in there!" Katie recognized AJ's voice. "I need my shit!"

Katie laughed and put her hand on her forehead, shaking her head in amusement. "Come back in half an hour!" Punk yelled back.

"We leave in an hour dipshit! And why would I come back in half an hour...oh God...oh Go—PHIL! GET OFF OF HER RIGHT NOW!" AJ screamed so loud it was as if she was standing at the foot of the bed. Katie broke out into hysterical laughter as Punk collapsed at her side, groaning loudly. Katie took this opportunity to roll off the bed, put on her top, and open the door for AJ.

"Are you okay?!" AJ asked as she walked into the room.

Before Katie could answer, Punk called out. "Of course she's okay! She's with her boyfriend, why wouldn't she be okay?!"

AJ smiled devilishly before looking at Punk on the floor. "I just cockblocked you, didn't I?"

"You did," Punk said, finally standing. "Are you proud of yourself?" he asked.

"Very," AJ answered. "Now get out. You need to shower and change before you leave and I need to talk to Katie," AJ said.

"Are you kicking me out?" Punk asked as he pulled his own shirt back on.

"Hey Katie, do you have _tampons_? I've been having _cramps_ all morning," AJ said loudly, causing Punk to cringe.

"I'm out! I'm out!" he yelled as he ran towards the door. "Don't think this is over!" he said as he opened the door.

"Seriously, Katie, where are the _tampons_?" AJ yelled again, forcing Punk to scream a little and slam the door shut.

Katie kept laughing as she moved around the room. "You're too good, AJ," she commented, still laughing. "Maybe I should use that too if I ever want him gone."

"It works every time, I swear. On every guy too, not just him," she said, smiling. "But...Katie, we need to talk. John told me what happened last night. What's going on?"

Katie knew that sooner or later the word would have gotten around. John didn't want to know for gossip reasons – he wanted to know because he had a huge heart. Katie sighed heavily before she sat on the bed and divulged into everything she had told Punk last night. AJ was shocked to say the least, but she was just as supportive as Punk was. Despite the shitty situation, Katie felt good knowing that this many people cared about her. She was so lucky.

Xxxxx

While waiting in the airport gate for their flight to start boarding, AJ and Katie read gossip magazines, while Punk read his comic book, John did some phone interviews, and Kofi talked on the phone with his family. Katie had already taken a lot of photos of the Superstars in the bus and in the airport and felt she should retire the camera until they got on the flight. As AJ and Katie debated which actors were better looking, Katie's phone buzzed from her pocket. She retrieved it and saw a text message from her oldest brother, Daniel.

_Mark called and told me about what happened. Don't take it personally. You know how Stephen can be, kiddo. Keep your chin up. If you need anything, call me._

Katie smiled at the phone screen and replied back.

_Thanks Danny. You always know the right things to say. Say hi to Emma and Ollie for me. Tell them I miss them like crazy._

Soon another text message came from her brother. _Have you talked to him yet?_

_I don't feel like doing that right now. Plus I was told he took a flight out last night instead of waiting till this morning. _

_You two must talk, and soon. He may be related to Judy but that doesn't mean he doesn't love you any less. You are family. Never forget that. _

Katie sighed, knowing her brother was right but not wanting to accept the fact. Before she could send him another text back, she received one from Matt.

_Mark called. I'd punch Stephen but he can kick my ass to Pluto so I shall refrain from doing so. I value my good health. _

Katie snorted at her brother's attempt to be funny and make her feel better. She hated to say it, but it helped. _I knew you were good for nothing. Arianna can probably throw a better punch than you anyway._

She could visualize Matt being offended by the text and Arianna laughing her head off at it. _HEY! I throw a pretty decent right hand! Arianna just knows how to throw a better one...In all seriousness kiddo, call me if you need anything, okay? Talk to Stephen and get everything settled, because you two can't stop speaking to each other. I mean, how awkward would family functions be?_

Katie laughed again and dismissed her brother as everyone heard the woman on the speakers announce their flight being boarded. Katie gathered her things and stood in line with Punk and AJ before her phone buzzed yet again in her pocket. Instinctively she knew it was Josh texting her.

_Chin up, kiddo. Stephen may be an ass at times, but he's an ass that loves you like we do. Talk to him ASAP or else things will just get more awkward from here._

_It's like you guys are on a synchronized clock. But thanks for the text. I need to cool off before I talk to him so I don't say anything I regret. _

"Who do you keep texting?" Punk asked as he playfully looked at her phone.

"It's my brothers," she said, turning off her phone and shoving it in her pocket. She looked at him as if to say 'They're worried about me because of what happened last night'.

"Oh," Punk said, understanding completely. "Tell them not to worry. I'll take care of you."

Katie smiled as Punk turned around to hand his passport to the lady in front of him. _I would,_ Katie thought, _If they knew I was dating you._

Xxxxx

Backstage at the next Raw Katie snapped away photo after photo of everyone she saw. It had been a week since the incident and there still had not been any contact with Sheamus. Katie had to admit she was still a bit riled up about the situation and what was said, but she knew she had to talk to him soon. She wondered, however, if he wanted to talk to her. Part of her thought he would have texted or called her by now, so she was angry he wasn't making an effort. However, the other part of her knew it was up to her to initiate the conversation because she was hurt the most. The slaps and punches didn't mean a thing when something that serious was brought up so out of the blue.

As she took pictures of John Cena warming up in his locker room she was called out by Kofi who told her Stephanie McMahon wanted to see her. She immediately ran out of the room and through the hallways to Stephanie's office and found her sitting in a chair going through the night's final script.

"Katie! Sit, please," she motioned to a chair. Katie sat down immediately and clutched her camera in her hands. Stephanie was a sweetheart but Katie was always nervous whenever she had to face her. "I want to commend you again for the absolutely excellent work you are doing," she began, smiling at Katie. "The photos are fabulous. The fans love them. I can't applaud you enough for taking the initiative on this idea, running with it, and being so good with it."

Katie blushed before smiling largely. "Well, thank _you_ for accepting the idea. It would be nowhere without yours and Paul's approval."

Stephanie shook her head in a joking manner. "It was all me, Paul had nothing to do with this," she said, waving off her comment, making Katie laugh. "Anyways, first order of business. You've been doing so well that I really want to reward you for all the effort you've been putting in. Around September, there will be a house show in Ottawa, then a Raw show in Toronto. When we're there you can feel absolutely free to bring your family in for the show. We'll provide the seats and entertainment for all of them. I understand you have older brothers?"

"I have four older brothers...and their spouses...and two nieces and nephews...plus my dad. Will there be enough?" Katie asked.

"We will make sure there will be enough," Stephanie smiled. "After that there are some more house shows in Hamilton and London but you won't be going to those. I'm giving you time off until the next Monday night, which will be in Philadelphia. I know you haven't seen your family in ages so I really wanted to give this opportunity to catch up with them."

Katie wanted to cry for how happy she was. "Oh Stephanie, thank you. Thank you so much," she said, trying her hardest not to let tears fall. "That means so much to me."

"You've been working very hard Katie, you deserve to be rewarded," Stephanie said, smiling at her. "Second order of business. You know Donald, one of the men who takes photographs ring side," she began.

"Of course," Katie said. "He's a great guy. Very funny."

"I know, he's amazing. He's been with us for about seven years. Anyways, he had to take an emergency flight out. His wife went into labour earlier today and of course he needed to be there," Stephanie informed her. "We need somebody to take his place tonight so we have ample photos from ringside and I want you to do it."

Katie's eyes lit up immediately. "Stephanie, I'd love to."

"The backstage photography can be put on hold but just for this week. I'm sure you have ample photographs from other nights that you can possibly use, if need be."

"I do, they're all on my laptop," Katie nodded her head.

"Well then it's settled," Stephanie said, standing up. Katie stood up as well. "Go find either Richard, Eddie, or Will, and they will give you the camera you'll be using for tonight and the ground rules for taking ringside photos. Have fun!" she said, opening the door.

"Thank you so much Stephanie. For everything," Katie said as she walked towards the door.

"You've proven yourself Katie. There's no need to thank me when you're getting the recognition you deserve."

Xxxxx

Punk had been warming up when Stephanie McMahon had randomly called him on his cell phone to go over some of the spots for his match tonight. She was in the same building as he was – probably only a few yards away – so why she was even calling was beyond him. Why couldn't she just get a runner to call him into her office? Whatever.

"So you and Katie, huh?" Stephanie teased after they finished their business.

Punk groaned. He knew him and Katie weren't exactly keeping their relationship a secret anymore, but Stephanie knowing put things on a whole other level.

"I'm going to kill John," Punk said as he shook his head.

"It wasn't Cena that told me," Stephanie said. "Anyways, that's not important. What's important is that I'm giving you some time off."

Punk was speechless. "Time...time...time off? What? What is...what? What is this foreign concept you speak of?" he asked her.

"In September we're having Raw in Toronto. You're not being booked for the Smackdown or any other house shows until the following Raw," Stephanie informed him. "All you have to do is an autograph signing on the Thursday, but in between that time, you're free."

"On the Thursday Stephanie? Really? Right in the middle of the week?" he complained. "There's no point in me going back to Chicago then!"

"You're forgetting something," Stephanie laughed on the other end.

"What is that?"

"Hmmm, I don't know...maybe that your _girlfriend_ is from _Toronto_," Stephanie teased.

"Yeah I know but...oh..._OH_," Punk finally realized Stephanie's plan. "You little devil. I thought when you found out about this you'd give me this whole lecture on staying away from her," Punk said.

"What can I say?" Stephanie said. "She's been doing such hard work, I decided to give her some time off. Sheamus called me and told me how you deserve some time off and I guess I bought into it, so I thought, why not give you two some time off at the same time?"

Punk was thankful for this short break he was getting. It was longer than most of his breaks, which were usually just a day or two. But something Stephanie said immediately caught his attention. "Wait, Sheamus called you?"

"Yes, why?" she asked. "Oh, got to go Phil. Paul's in. We have to review the script for tonight. Have a good match," she said quickly before hanging up.

"Wait Stephanie, no!" he tried to stop her, but to no avail. Sheamus had called? What did he say? To his knowledge, Sheamus still hadn't called or made any contact with Katie...why would he call Stephanie?

Xxxxx

Katie was on a high while at ringside. The audience was amazing and the energy was undeniable. She could understand now why wrestlers kept coming back to the business – hearing 20,000 people chant your name constantly gave you goosebumps, no matter how many times you heard it. She had been having so much fun taking photographs, working with Richard, Eddie and Will, and communicating with Stephanie and Paul through the ear device she had to wear.

During a specific commercial break, Paul's voice was heard in every photographer's ear piece. "The brawl between myself and Brock is next, folks. Please be advised I will be jumping over the top rope at one point. Use your judgement and please be aware of everything. We want to be on the safe side." The photographers took their positions as Raw came back on air and Paul, who now transformed into Triple H, made his way to the ring. Through his promo Katie snapped photos like crazy. Then Brock's music hit and she took even more, especially of the crowd who was torn on whether or not to cheer for him.

Some words were exchanged but Katie couldn't remember what was said. Being this close to larger-than-life figures and hearing the crowd cheer so loudly was a surreal moment. She felt as if she finally made it. As the brawl went underway Brock and Paul exchanged some punches and kicks before Brock, in his heelish, cowardly fashion, slid out of the ring. Katie found herself right next to him, taking photos of him looking at Paul and taunting him. Paul was absolutely livid in the ring, and catapulted himself off the rope and ran towards Brock. Paul jumped and gained considerable height, despite his size. The last thing Katie remembered was taking a photo of Paul mid-air.

Xxxxx

So many things going on in this one! Sorry for another cliff hanger, but I hoped you enjoyed it! Also, as a side note: I am a very visual person, so when I am reading something, I like to know what everybody looks like. You all obviously know what Punk looks like (I hope :P), so I scoured the internet to try and find the perfect representation of how I picture Katie in my head, and I found it. If anybody can tell me how I can put a link to a photo here, I will be very grateful!. Ignore the fact that it's a photo for a wedding dress :P I am writing the next chapter tonight but it won't be up until tomorrow or Tuesday, so be on the lookout for it!


	15. Chapter 15

When Punk was not in the ring for his match or warming up backstage, he could be found looking at any monitor, watching Katie doing ringside photography for the night. He was incredibly proud of his girlfriend for this opportunity and knew she had worked so hard to deserve it. Soon Kofi, John, and the Miz had joined him around the one monitor screen, watching with him.

"They're closing with the Brock brawl," Kofi mentioned as they all stood around. "Hopefully Brock will be on his best behaviour."

"The guy is being paid out of Vince McMahon's ass," Miz scoffed. "I doubt her cares about anything besides his paycheque."

Brock's music suddenly hit and the men listened to his sub-par mic skills. Soon the brawl was underway and they began silently rooting for Paul.

"Katie's getting right in there," John commented as he saw Katie get up close with her camera to the action. Punk smiled proudly at how far she would go to get a good shot. Brock slid out of the ring in typical coward fashion and Paul was screaming at him from inside the ring. The boys watched Paul launch himself from the ropes towards Brock on the outside; he jumped and was all set to land on Brock.

What happened next was _definitely_ not in the script. Brock knew the dive was supposed to happen – what was _not_ supposed to happen was him grabbing the closest thing to him – being Katie – and putting her in the way of Paul's dive. In one swift movement he had grabbed her arm and thrust her in his position so that Paul landed on top of her instead of him. Brock made his way up the ramp with a sadistic smile on his face.

"Oh my God," John gasped as he watched what had just happened. All the men stood with their jaws on the floor at what had just transpired.

They continued to watch as Paul bent down beside Katie to see if she was ok, but she had been knocked out by the impact. Paul looked seriously worried as he began to check Katie; everybody, even the fans, could tell this was not planned. When she didn't respond to anything, Paul did the only thing he could think of doing: he made a giant X with his arms, signalling for the emergency crew to hurry down the ramp and help. He didn't care now that they were still on live TV, though the show was due to go off air any second. Katie wasn't a wrestler by any means and was not prepared for this.

The second that Punk could see how serious Paul was about the situation, he walked away from his friends and started walking towards the gorilla position to get down into the ring. As he passed another monitor screen he noticed Paul make the X symbol with his hands; now he was absolutely livid. How could Brock be so stupid? Everybody was told who was placed for wrestler use and who was not. Punk began running through the gorilla position and soon he was making his way down the ramp after the emergency crew. He wanted to kill Brock.

As the emergency crews tended to Katie, Punk was at her side asking them what was wrong. Fans were understandably confused as to why Punk was out helping – the very last bit of Raw showed Punk running down the ramp, which meant viewers at home saw him too. When the emergency crews couldn't get a response from Katie either, they announced she needed to be taken into the emergency room. They carefully took all her equipment off of her, emptied her pockets, which contained her cell phone and ID, gave them to Punk, and placed her onto the stretcher. As they lifted the stretcher up the fans began to cheer; Paul and Punk were following on either side.

"I'm going with them," Punk told Paul as they made their way backstage.

"Phil, it will be fine. I'll go with her to the hospital and -"

"I don't think you fucking get it," Punk blasted at Paul. "If you leave me here you'll be lucky if you find Brock's body somewhere."

Paul had no choice but to allow Punk to hop into the back of the ambulance. Other superstars by this point had gathered round to check on Katie and see what shape she was in. Once they saw the ambulance, they knew how serious the situation had gotten.

Xxxxx

As Punk waited in the hospital for a word as to Katie's condition, his mind began to wander on how to respond to this situation. He knew it was not Paul's fault by any means, but he still wanted to talk to him, to tell him Brock needed to calm the fuck down. Just because he was back, it didn't mean he could run the show and have free reign on whatever he could do. Inevitably this would lead to a talk with Stephanie as well. Punk also knew he needed to approach Brock – it wouldn't be pretty, but it needed to be done. His temper would get the best of him, but maybe that's what Brock needed.

Not long after he arrived at the hospital, Paul came as well. They both sat together in the waiting room, hoping for a word from one of the doctors soon.

"We've fined Brock," Paul told him after an elongated moment of silence. "I talked to him earlier. He also got yelled at by Stephanie and Vince, just so you know. You know how Stephanie sounds when she's angry and yelling."

Punk mustered up a smile. "I don't, actually, but I bet you do," he said, making Paul chuckle. "You probably know all too well."

"It ain't pretty," Paul commented, leaning back in his seat. "Do you still have her cell phone? You should probably call her family, you know."

Punk mentally slapped himself for not thinking about that earlier. He stood up and took her phone out of her pocket before finding Daniel's number and calling him.

After about four rings, he picked up the phone. "Katie?! I was watching, are you okay?" he immediately asked.

"Uh...this...this isn't Katie," Punk said awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "This is CM Pu—I mean, this is Phil Brooks."

"How is she?"

"We uh...we actually don't know," Punk said. "The doctor still hasn't come out. We don't know anything, but I'm sure she's fine," he continued, trying to convince himself as well. "Triple H...Paul, in the split second he realized he was going to hit her, he tried to swerve so the impact wasn't so severe..."

"I may not be a professional wrestler, but fuck, if I ever see Brock Lesnar anywhere..." Daniel began.

"Trust me buddy, I'm already on that train," Punk said. "I wanted to call just to let you know that Paul and I are here at the hospital waiting for an update. I'll call you when the doctor comes out."

"Okay, cool. Thanks a lot Phil," Daniel said on the other end. "By the way, what are you doing calling from my sister's phone?" Daniel asked.

"Well, the paramedics emptied her pockets and gave me what was in there, which happened to be her cellphone..." Punk started.

"No, I mean why are _you_ calling? Why was the only superstar I saw run down the ramp _you_? I mean, I get you guys are friends and everything, but I don't get it."

At that second Punk realized that Daniel, nor her other brothers, had any idea he and Katie were dating. His throat became dry and the next realization that now _he_ was the one who was supposed to break the news. "She uh...she never told you then...did she?"

"Told me what?"

Punk sighed heavily into the phone. "Your sister and I...Katie and I have been dating for the past couple of months."

There was silence on the other end of the phone, and Punk silently hoped this would go better than the Sheamus situation. "You're fucking kidding me," Daniel finally said.

"I kid you not, uh...sir," Punk tried to be funny, but failed miserably. He mentally slapped himself again. "We've been dating...I'd say for about two months now."

"Wow," Daniel said, shocked. "My sister never told me. I mean she told me you guys were good friends and all, but not this."

"Ah...yeah," Punk shrugged, not knowing what else to say. "But wait a second," he said. "You guys know about the fight with Stephen. How do you not know we're dating?" he raised a legitimate point. Katie made it clear she talked with her brothers about the situation.

"She never told us what the fight was actually about. She would keep saying 'it's personal, it's personal', and never tell us what set him off. Typical of Katie, always bottling things up inside," Daniel commented. "What the hell happened, Phil? I need some answers."

Punk took a huge breath. "Well, Stephen...I guess he sees Katie as a little sister? He's very protective over her. Anyway, he basically told everyone she was off limits, but Katie and I didn't listen, and you know...began to date and such. He wasn't very happy when he found out, and he found out completely by accident. He saw some pictures and just flew off the handle. They had a confrontation. I was there, so was John Cena and some of my other buddies to make sure Stephen didn't kill me. He made the comment, she slapped him, told him never to talk to her again, and that was that."

"Jesus," Daniel gasped, shocked at the situation. Punk turned around and saw Paul also on the phone with someone – probably Stephanie or Vince to check on Katie's condition. Punk turned back around. "This is worse than I thought. She never told us the reason why they fought."

"Yeah, well...that's it," Punk said awkwardly.

"We've already tried to call Stephen but he hasn't been answering. I'm going to try again tomorrow. That's unacceptable," Daniel commented. "The second you know any information, call me."

"I will," Punk agreed. "Have a good night. Don't worry too much about her. She's a tough cookie."

"I'm her brother, Phil, I know that," Daniel said. "By the sound of your voice and how scared you looked on TV, I should be telling you that. She's a fighter. She'll be okay."

Punk walked back towards Paul, who was still sitting in his seat. Before he could sit down he noticed a doctor walking towards them. "Are you here for Katharine Cadenza?" he asked, looking at his papers.

"Is she okay?" Punk immediately asked, Paul rising from his seat beside him.

"She's fine. The force of the impact knocked her out, but she does not have any head injuries," the doctor said. A feeling a relief washed over both men. "She'll be walking away lucky. She's got a black eye though, and requires some bandages around her rib cage and abdomen for only about a day or so, but other than that, she's good to go."

"Can we see her?" Paul asked.

"Well, we've induced her into a sleep so that her body responds more to the painkillers and antibiotics we gave her," the doctor explained. "We want her to be out by noon tomorrow. You can see her but she won't be awake."

"I still want to see her," Punk announced. He looked over at Paul. "And I'm staying the night."

"Phil -"

"I'm _going_ to be here when she wakes up," Punk said. Yet again, Paul had no other option but to give in to Punk's demand.

As they made their way towards her room Punk prepared himself for what he was going to see. When they entered they saw her lying in bed, eyes closed, her black eye already starting to develop, though it would take a couple of days to become a real shiner. By that alone Punk wanted to run out of the hospital and find Brock, but he knew Katie needed him more here than whooping Brock's ass. Paul surveyed the situation and asked the doctor some more questions before calling Stephanie and letting her know everything was fine. Punk also took the time to call Daniel and let him know Katie was ok.

Punk stood in the room, hearing the monitor beep at a consistent rate and looking at the IVs that were stuck inside Katie. He rubbed his eyes together, embarrassed for himself now that he was getting so emotional. '_The doctor said she was going to be fine'_ he kept telling himself. _'She'll be awake tomorrow morning and everything will be fine.'_

"I'll let Stephanie know where you'll be," Paul said as he stood in the doorway, ready to leave. He noticed how upset Punk was when he didn't respond, so he went over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked.

"Just tell the others she'll be fine," Punk said, crossing his arms over his chest. "They're probably worried sick and I don't want them blowing up my phone."

"Call me if you need anything," Paul said as he left the room. Punk pulled up a chair and sat right beside the bed, not knowing what else to do.

Xxxxx

Katie opened her eyes slowly, the light above her blinding her. She looked to her left and saw nothing but a white wall and a small window. She had no idea where she was. Why was she in a bed? Why was there IV in her? She looked to her left and saw Punk's head resting on the side of the bed; he was bent over in an awkward position that looked painful.

"Phil," she called his name quietly. He opened his eyes slowly, and, upon realization she was awake, they doubled in size.

"Katie, oh my God," he said, immediately getting closer to her, putting his arms on either side of her body.

"What happened to me?" she asked. "The last thing I remember is Paul flying out of the ring."

"Brock pulled you in front of him," Punk informed her, trying to remain calm. "Paul landed on you and knocked you out."

"Jesus," she said as she brought her hand up to rub her forehead. "Why are your eyes so bloodshot? Did you stay here all night or something?"

"Well, of course," Punk said.

"Phil! You didn't have to do that," she took his hand. "I feel fine."

"Well I didn't know that last night," he reasoned. "Plus, you're not fine. You've got a pretty nice shiner developing on your face," he smiled, showing her her reflection on his phone.

"Oh _God_," she complained. "Don't I look like a princess."

"You always look like a princess," he joked, leaning over to kiss her before getting up from his seat. "I'm going to go and call the doctor so we can get out of here," he said. He placed one more kiss on her forehead before leaving the room and going to find the doctor.

While Punk walked down the hallways looking for the doctor, or even a nurse, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Thinking it was the likes of John or AJ texting him to see how Katie was doing, he immediately reached for his phone in his pocket. He was shocked to see that the text was from neither of them; it was from her cousin.

_Please tell me she's okay. I know I've been a douchebag but please just tell me if she's okay or not. I'm going to be there next Monday and I would like to talk to her. If you could somehow arrange that I'll owe you forever. _

Xxxxx

Two updates in two days...hope you all enjoyed them!


	16. Chapter 16

Once Punk found the doctor and told him Katie was now awake, he sat outside his room fumbling with his phone, deciding on whether or not he should text Sheamus back. He also sat wondering why, even after two months, Katie hadn't told her brothers about their relationship yet. He always knew her to be very open with her brothers about many things, considering they were all so close, so withholding this information from them was very unlike her. Before Punk could register another thought, the doctor poked his head out of the room and told him to wait in the sitting room; they were going to run a few more quick tests before releasing Katie. Punk went to sit down and called one of the only people whose opinions he truly listened to and valued.

"You asshole. You haven't called me in two days. If I was your girlfriend this would be _completely_ unacceptable," he heard the undeniable voice of Colt Cabana scream at him from the other end.

"Lucky for me I have a girlfriend," Punk shot back quickly, knowing Colt would say something like he did.

"How is Katie anyway?" Colt asked, oblivious to what had happened the night before.

"I'm taking you didn't watch Raw?" Punk asked, which Colt admitted he didn't. As he retold the events to Colt he had to keep his cool again – he was still angry at Brock, but had heard last night from John that Brock had already flown out, so now confrontation could happen – yet, at least. Punk wasn't going to let Brock get away so easy.

Colt was shocked at the story his best friend told him. "She's okay, right?" he asked in a worried tone.

"Yeah, she's fine," Punk answered. "The doctor is just running a couple of more tests on her before she gets released in a bit. But we've got a bigger problem on our hands."

"What could be a bigger problem than your girlfriend being hospitalized?" Colt asked.

"Last night, I called her oldest brother, Daniel, to let him know what was going on with her. I was the one who had to tell him that Katie and I were dating," Punk said.

"Katie didn't tell her brothers she was dating you?" Colt reiterated.

"No, she didn't."

"But you guys have been dating for like, two months," Colt tried to make sense of what Punk was telling him.

"I _know_, Colt. That's the problem," Punk said.

"Well...shit," Colt didn't know what to say. "Why the hell not?"

"That's what I'm asking you, dumbass," Punk chirped his best friend. "Why wouldn't she tell her family members that we're dating? I mean it's not like this is a fling or anything...we're both pretty serious about it," Punk said.

"Why the fuck are you asking _me_ these things for? You should be asking her this stuff," Colt told off his best friend. "Does she know you're serious about it?"

"I'm pretty sure..."

"Pretty sure isn't good enough."

"No, Colt...it's not like that," Punk said, burying his head in his hands, knowing where Colt was leading this conversation. "This is different. _She's_ different. You know me -"

"I _do_ know you," Colt interrupted him, "And I know you well enough that you're thinking of all these bad things as to why she didn't tell her family when it could be something simple. You need to just talk to her, man."

"What if I do and I make her upset. It's gonna be like I'm accusing her..." Punk began to worry.

"Then don't accuse her," Colt said. "You're making this so difficult. Just be up front with her. Tell her what happened and then ask her. If she gets angry then you're gonna need to find a way to make it up to her, but that's all a part of being in a relationship, you know."

"Damnit, Colt," Punk playfully said. "How and why are you so good at this shit?"

"I don't know man, it's like a sixth sense," Colt said. "Can you stop whining now and be a man?"

"Fuck you," Punk said playfully again as he noticed Katie and the doctor emerging from the room. "I gotta go, she's out," Punk said quickly, ending the conversation. "Thanks buddy."

"I better not go this long again without hearing from you. Who else is going to talk to me until I fall asleep?"

"Good_bye_ Colt," Punk laughed as he hung up. He stood up with a smile on his face as he walked towards Katie and her doctor.

"She's good to go," the doctor announced as Katie grabbed Punk's hand and intertwined her fingers with his. "All you need to do is take off the bandages in about an hour or two. She's got some medication in case she starts to feel pain. You can ice the black eye, but there's really nothing else you can do about it, as I'm sure you know."

"Thank you so much doctor," Punk said as he squeezed Katie's hand. Katie signed her discharge papers and soon they were out of the hospital, hailing a cab on the street. The cab drove them back to the hotel where they packed their things; Paul had slipped a pair of plane tickets to the next show under Punk's door. Having nothing better to do, they decided to grab another taxi to drive to the airport and have lunch in one of the restaurants before checking into their gate and boarding the plane.

"So...I called your brother last night, to let him know about the situation," Punk began, not knowing where this conversation was going, or would end up, once they were done.

"Which one?"

"Daniel," Punk answered quickly.

"I bet he was freaking out," Katie commented as she took another bite out of her sandwich. "What did he say?"

"He was surprisingly calm considering the circumstances, but he did insinuate he wanted to fly out here and beat up Brock," Punk said, to which Katie laughed. "There's uh...there's something else though."

Katie looked at Punk with expectant eyes, wanting him to go on. "Daniel had no idea about us dating. None of your brothers do," Punk said, causing Katie to put down her fork and lean back in her seat. "Is there a reason for that?"

"Because I suck at relationships," Katie said, looking at the floor. "I've only had one serious boyfriend before. The rest of the guys I've ever been interested always flake."

"Excuse me?"

Katie took a deep breath in. "All the guys I've ever been interested in were intimidated by me because I'm smart. They couldn't handle that I was smarter than them, and more driven, and that half the time I wanted to read or study instead of go out. None of them ever lasted, so I guess...I guess I wanted to see if that happened here, too, before I went and wrote home about it," she admitted. "I hope you're not mad."

"I'm not mad," Punk assured her. "I'm just worried you think I'm not taking this seriously or something."

"I know you're taking this seriously," Katie immediately retorted. "Trust me. I know."

Punk paused for a second so he could register what Katie just told him. "So they flaked because you were smart?" he asked, to which she nodded her head. "You had awful taste in men."

Katie snorted as she laughed, shaking her head at Punk's comment. "My brothers always tease me about getting a boyfriend, or never having one, typical brother stuff," she went on once she stopped laughing. "My dad's Italian, so that goes without saying the whole European father thing. It took a lot for him to ship me off to England for a year for that photography course. My brothers had to convince him it was good for me. I know that he'll be happy with whatever I do in my life but at the same time, deep down, I know he wishes for that...you know, that traditional, family role for me. He wants to see me get married. He knows I don't want kids and has accepted that, but he still wants to see me married." She looked at Punk for a reaction, knowing his views on marriage, but he was only listening intently at her. "I guess I wanted to make sure this was going to _last_ and not be just some..._thing_, so that he didn't get his hopes up, or that my brothers didn't become too attached that I was dating you. I don't want to rush things. I hope you understand."

Oddly enough, Punk understood where she was coming from. Rushing things would only mean things would get too serious too quickly, and that was the last thing he wanted to happen. "I completely understand," he told her, putting her at ease. "Stephanie's giving us time off together though, in September, when we're in Toronto. I hope that's not too...fast for you."

"That's fine," Katie said, taking another bite out of her food. "At least then you can meet and spend time with my family...see what you're getting yourself into," she smiled wryly. "If you don't run after that week, I'll know you're a keeper."

Punk laughed as he took another bite out of his food. He laughed to himself thinking about all the possibilities that could happen that week with her family. Who knows if they were going to love him or hate him? Her brothers only knew him by his on-screen personality. Granted, it wasn't that far off from his real personality, but there were still some differences that they needed to see.

Once they were done their lunch, Punk paid the bill and they made their way over to their gate, where they continued to sit and wait until the plane started boarding. Punk took out his phone and answered some text messages before seeing Sheamus' text on the screen, reminding him that he forgot to answer.

_She's fine. We're waiting for a flight now. Nothing but a black eye._ He texted back, not knowing if Sheamus would even respond or not.

_Thank God. Are you going to help me talk to her next Monday?_ Sheamus texted back.

_That depends. Do I get an apology too?_ Punk asked, knowing he would be pushing Sheamus' buttons. He didn't care. Sheamus needed to know what he did was unacceptable, and that he deserved an apology as much as Katie did.

_We'll cross that bridge when we get there. I want to talk to her first before anything._

Punk sighed at his response but had no other choice. _Come into my locker room before the show starts. She's always in there. You're welcome._

"Tell Colt to stop texting you," Katie commented as she smiled, watching Punk typing away furiously on his phone while she read a book. "This relationship isn't a threesome."

Punk laughed as he leaned over and kissed his girlfriend. She resorted back to reading; Punk knew he couldn't tell her it was Sheamus he was talking to and not Colt.

_By the way. Why the hell did you call Stephanie? She's giving us time off together, and something tells me the idea wasn't completely hers._

As the hostess announced their row numbers aloud, Punk and Katie got up and went to the desk to hand over their passports and tickets. Before Punk turned off his phone, he received one more text message.

Before Punk turned off his phone, he received one more text message.

_My way of saying sorry. You're welcome._


	17. Chapter 17

"Are you ready to apologize?"

The five words asked by Punk to a torn-looking Sheamus sent both men into a stand-off in Punk's dressing room. Sheamus looked at his friend and sighed heavily, the severity of the situation known all too well and the complete unknown of what would happen all too heavy in the air.

"I really fucked up. You don't know the half of it," Sheamus told Punk. "She won't forgive me. I'll tell you that much. And if she does it will take a lot of time."

Punk nodded his head. "You did cross the line."

"I know that. I don't need you to tell me," Sheamus said, shaking his head at himself. "Fuck, this is going to be hard."

There was silence between the two men, both thinking about the end results of this confrontation. In this situation Katie could be unpredictable – nobody ever thought she would muster enough anger to slap another person (a family member at that), so they had no idea what was going to happen here.

"I'm sorry," Sheamus said quietly, looking at Punk. "You really care about her, don't you? This isn't just another one of your conquests."

"I was trying to tell you that, but you weren't listening," Punk said, alluding to the fight.

"Paul...he called me and told me how angry you were last week when she got hurt. How you refused to leave her side and all that at the hospital. He said you were really worried." Punk nodded his head at Sheamus' comment. "You need to understand...once her mom left, her brothers and I...we...we just promised each other no-one would hurt her. She was so fucked over by Judy, and that's going to follow her for her entire life, but we wanted to try as hard as possible not to let anything else hurt her like her mom did."

"She's not a little girl anymore," Punk said. "I get that you wanted to do that when she was younger, but she's 26 years old now. If she's going to make mistakes you have to let her make them. It's her life buddy, not yours."

"I know, I know," he agreed, looking more torn by the second. "I reacted that way because I felt as if I was breaking the pact I made with her brothers. You'll never understand how close that family is until you meet them. They protect her like she's the Holy Grail."

"Well I am going to meet them, thanks to you," Punk said. "I'll see firsthand."

"I'm only going to say this once, as satisfaction to you and to her," Sheamus began, thinking that Punk wasn't taking the situation as seriously as he was. "I can see you're good for her," Sheamus admitted his past wrongs in that once sentence.

"T...Thank you," Punk said slowly, not sure of what else to say. "That's all I wanted you to see, or what you should have seen, all along." He looked up towards the clock and noticed that it was extremely close to the time Katie would usually come in and visit Punk before the show started. "She'll be coming any minute, so get ready."

Sheamus nodded his head and stood up, walking over to where the showers were so Katie wouldn't see him as she walked in. Punk paced his room, pretending to warm up as he waited for Katie to walk through the doors and greet him with a kiss.

About five minutes later she did, with her trusty camera around her neck and a smile on her face. Though her black eye was still pretty prominent, she tried to disguise it as best she could with make-up; it couldn't be denied though. It looked like she had been in a street fight. She kissed him lightly on the lips before standing off to the side and watching him continue to warm up. "Where's Kofi? He's usually in here," she asked.

"Don't know," Punk answered quickly, wishing Sheamus would just walk out and they could begin things.

As if on cue, Punk saw Sheamus emerge from the back of the locker room. Katie's back was to him so she couldn't see him, but when she noticed Punk's eyes looking behind her, she spun around. Her eyes grew wide. "Stephen."

"Can we talk?" he asked timidly, almost scared to approach his own cousin.

"Phil, leave the room, please," she said, not taking her eyes off her cousin.

"Pardon me?" Punk asked, shocked that she wouldn't want to have him there.

"Leave the room, please," she said with more force this time. "This is between Stephen and I, and nobody else."

Having no other choice he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him so they could have their privacy. Not knowing if he should eavesdrop or continue warming up, he decided on the latter and went on a search to find either John or Kofi to stretch with. Clearly whatever needed to be discussed between Katie and her cousin didn't need any intervention by him.

Xxxxx

"What do you think is going on with them?" Punk asked Kofi. He had finished stretching what seemed like ages ago, and now, the only thing that occupied his mind was what was going on with his girlfriend and one of his friends.

"Stop being such a girl," Kofi chastised him. "I'm sure they're working it out. She'll tell you about it later."

"What if this meeting just made it worse?" Punk asked. "What if they got into another fight and -"

"Dude, _seriously_," Kofi said. "Just think about your match tonight. Think about your promo. Do you want to go over it with me?" he asked, trying to get his mind off of things.

"No," Punk immediately shot down the idea as he paced back and forth. "Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe I should have given it more time."

"There's nothing I can say that can calm you down, is there?" Kofi asked.

"This could all blow up in my face," Punk ignored Kofi, making him angry.

Before Kofi was going to say something more, he noticed a familiar brunette with a camera walking towards them from down the hallway. "She's coming dude. Compose yourself."

Punk spun around and watched as his girlfriend walked towards him with no expression on her face. When she was finally within earshot, she began to talk. "I didn't forgive him, at least not yet, if that's what you want to know," she said in a strong voice. "But we're back on speaking terms."

"That's...that's good," Punk smiled, trying to decipher Katie's tone but not being able to. "Aren't you happy?"

"Yes, I am happy," she said, looking away from him. "Anyway, have a good match tonight. I've got to get to work," she said, in what Punk read as a very cold gesture, as she walked away from them abruptly to find superstars to photograph.

Punk was left standing in his spot, watching her walk away. "Something's not right," Kofi said in a worried tone.

Punk had to agree.

Xxxxx

When the end of Raw rolled around, Punk looked everywhere to try and find Katie, so they could board the bus together to go back to the hotel. Upon further inspection and asking everybody he saw where she was, superstars and crew alike, he had learned that she had gone back to the hotel prematurely. His next immediate thought was to find her cousin and ask him what had angered her, but he too had already been whisked away to the airport so he could fly into the next city Smackdown would be hosted in. He was left with no answers.

Upon arrival at the hotel, he took the long elevator ride up to his floor and trudged down the hallway towards his room. When he opened his door he found Katie sitting at the desk in front of her computer, on the phone with someone. He breathed a sigh a relief, knowing she was safe and sound with him now, but he still wanted to know what her attitude was about earlier.

She barely acknowledged his presence when he walked in the room and he soon learned why – Stephanie McMahon was on the other end, and from what Punk could tell, Paul would chime in too; some sort of conference call. He stripped down to his boxers and not much else, taking a seat on the edge of the bed, waiting for Katie to end the call. After bouncing some more ideas back and forth with Stephanie and adjusting some things on her computer, she finally ended it and set her phone down on the table. She looked back at Punk and sighed. "You must be tired," she said. "Go to bed. I'll join you in a bit. I just have to finish this."

"You know I'm an insomniac," Punk countered. "What happened with your cousin?"

"That's between me and him," Katie dismissed him. She stood up to go and plug in her phone to charge. Punk continued to stare and her and she felt his eyes on her. She looked back at him as she leaned against the desk. "I'm not telling you what happened."

"Katie, come o-"

"Phil, _NO_," she said sternly, taking a deep breath in. "I'm not telling you what was said. We're good now, so don't worry about it."

"What was with the attitude back at the arena then?" he asked her. "I didn't even see you throughout the whole show. Then I find out you came here early."

"I just started remembering things, okay? Nothing brought up by Stephen," she said, quickly dismissing any thought Punk may have of him bringing up something bad again. "When we talk about these things, I start to remember a whole bunch of shit. A whole bunch of unpleasant shit, okay? I'm sorry I took it out on you but you were at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"What kind of unpleasant shit?" Punk persisted, wanting to get to the bottom of things.

"Oh for fuck sakes, Phil!" Katie exclaimed. "Judy shit, okay? How she would belittle my dad in front me and my brothers; how she would make me practice pointe for hours upon hours until my legs gave out; how she forced me to go on a diet when I was _nine_ so I wouldn't become _fat_," she continued to yell, listing off the memories. Small tears began leaking from her eyes and falling down her cheeks. "Are you happy now?"

Punk rose from his seat and walked over to her, still leaning against the desk. He wrapped his arms around her and when she tried to fight him he just tightened his grip. "I'm sorry if I'm making you angry," he whispered to her, wiping a tear from her eye. "But Katie, I need to know these things if we're going to be together. I need to embrace your past as much as you do," he continued. He kissed her forehead and the tip of her nose as she wiped more tears with the back on her hand.

"You have no idea how hard it was to live with her," she whispered, leaning her head against his chest. "The things that I have to live with now because of her..."

"You're right, I don't know how hard it was," he said, making her look up at him. "But I know that whatever you had to endure growing up made you stronger, and it made you who you are today. You said so yourself. Be proud of what you've become, Katie. Don't let her horrible legacy overshadow everything you've accomplished in your life without her."

She looked into his eyes, not saying a word, sliding her thumb over the stubble of his beard and around the crow's feet at the corner of his eyes. She studied his face, her eyes glossed over with tears, and couldn't believe she had fallen for him so quickly. When she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close to her, he picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his torso.

"How can you do this to me?" she asked, pushing some stray hair that had fallen into his eyes out of the way.

"Do what?"

"One touch from you and I melt. You always say the right things all the time and I somehow always listen to you. How can you do this to me after such a short period of time?"

Punk shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I'm just a smart cookie," he smiled, which caused her to smile as well. She leaned in for a kiss, and when she refused to let go and stop kissing him, Punk soon knew what this was going to turn into. In no time their clothes were off, and they both found themselves lying in bed.

When they had finished making love, Punk lay in bed while Katie slept soundly beside him. He soon heard a knock on his door and wondered why someone would be knocking at this hour. He managed to slip away from Katie without waking her up and walked to the door in his boxers. When he opened the door he found John Cena on the other end, his eyes groggy. He was in his pajamas.

"What's wrong?" Punk asked, noticing Cena's state.

"I am sleeping in the room directly next to you," Cena said in code. "We share a wall."

Punk was not catching on. "So...?"

Cena rolled his eyes. "These walls are _thin as fuck_," Cena said in a deadpan voice. It took a second for Punk to register that Cena had basically just heard his escapades with Katie. "I hope that round was the only round tonight."

Punk laughed, and when John saw this he walked the few steps over to his door. "And what if it's not?" Punk asked him. "What if there's round two...three...four?" he winked at Cena, making him squirm.

"Then I'm sleeping in the lobby."


	18. Chapter 18

As per usual, Katie was running around backstage on Raw, snapping photos left, right and centre of anyone and everyone she could find. She could finally say that mostly everything was back to normal – she and her cousin were back on speaking terms, she and Punk continued to have a great relationship, and her work was better than ever. Paul had even informed her earlier in the week that she'd get to travel with John Cena again, since she did so well last time, on another trip to New York City in the near future.

She had just finished photographing Beth Phoenix for her upcoming match and was walking through the halls backstage when she noticed Punk warming up, outside his dressing room for a change. His championship was sitting atop a black box and he was stretching his legs. She walked over to him and smiled; he took notice of her immediately and stopped stretching to talk to her.

"Get any good shots yet?" he asked, nodding down at her camera that was draped around her neck. "Maybe you should take some more shots of me."

Katie huffed as she moved closer to Punk, who wrapped an arm around her. "Last time I did I got in trouble," she winked. "Stephanie doesn't like all the attention being on one superstar, you know."

Punk smiled down at his girlfriend before leaning his head down and kissing her. The last couple of weeks had seen their relationship become a lot more open and a lot more..._physical_, to say the least. They were not scared of kissing backstage or around other superstars anymore, and were generally okay with showing some harmless displays of affection, so long as they didn't show that affection when fans were around. They still wanted their privacy from the dirt sheets and maintain some sort of normalcy within their relationship – they didn't want the stress of the fans constantly barraging them.

Katie deepened the kiss by pulling Punk down towards her and backing herself up against the wall. Punk readily accepted her advance and savoured the moment, knowing it couldn't possibly last as long as he wanted it to.

"God damn it!" they heard a voice shout out. "Every time I see you two now you have each other's tongues down your throats!" Cena exclaimed. They suddenly pulled away from the kiss and Katie buried her head in Punk's shoulder, embarrassed that Cena had caught them. She knew now that she would have to endure ridicule from him about their relationship, as Cena always gave them a playful hard time about being together.

"You're such a cockblock," Punk almost growled at his friend.

"That was actually my first career choice. Surprisingly I didn't think I'd be successful enough," Cena responded, shrugging his shoulders. "Who knew?"

Punk shook his head at Cena antics before letting go of Katie's waist. "I had to finish warming up anyway," he said as he began to stretch again.

"Good, because Katie and I need to talk," Cena said, putting his arm around Katie's shoulders and pulling her in close, as if they were having a serious discussion. "Katie. I want to make sure he's taking care of you," Cena said, loud enough so Punk could hear. "He's being a good boy, right?"

Katie tried her hardest to hold back her laughter. "_Very_ good boy," she responded, winking at Cena. "Or bad boy, depending which way you look at it."

Cena smiled mischievously as Punk could only imagine where that response would take him. "Katie, I just...I've mentioned it before, but I really do hope he's manscaping for you."

"Don't worry John, he is," Katie said in a serious tone. "I can't stand body hair. Especially body hair as coarse and thick as his. I mean I've watched his Straight Edge Society days...that chest hair is like a forest."

"I know, I know," John nodded his head. "It's pretty disgusting."

"How did you put up with it when you two cuddled together?" she asked, breaking out into a fit of laughter as John shot her a glare and Punk made a vocal objection. "Did you stroke it at night? Did it keep you warm?"

"You're a little devil," John shot at her, trying to hold back laughter. "You are evil."

"Let me ask _you_ a question! Who was the big spoon and who was the little spoon?" she smiled, grabbing her camera and snapping a picture of John's disapproving face. "Priceless," she commented. "Now, if you two don't mind, I'll give you some alone time and go back to work," she dismissed them, walking down the hallway.

"This isn't over!" John yelled out at her as she skipped down the hallway.

Punk shook his head playfully as he watched Katie skip down the hallway; soon she was out of his sight and he looked at Cena with his eyebrows raised, as if that said everything.

"She's something else, isn't she?" John asked rhetorically with a smile on his face.

"She is," Punk agreed.

"And you're enjoying every minute of it," Cena continued, smiling at his friend.

"Shut up," Punk tried to dismiss the comment. "Don't you have a match to get ready for?"

Xxxxx

Katie watched on the monitor screen as Punk raised his arms above his head triumphantly, 'Cult of Personality' playing in the background and the fans cheering him on. He had just won his match and as soon as they went off air, he'd be expected in the back. Katie was waiting for him in the back, near the gorilla position, and she soon noticed John Cena behind her, watching as well. As Punk came through the curtain Katie kissed him quickly and congratulated him on a great match. John gave him a pat on the back as the three walked deeper into the backstage area and talked about the matches that were left on Raw. They stood together, taking for a couple of minutes, before Katie noticed Paul walk behind Cena and Punk. He nodded his head at her and smiled before she noticed who was following behind him: Brock Lesnar.

"YOU!" Katie exclaimed suddenly, not knowing what came over her. She pointed her finger at Brock. "I've got a bone to pick with you!"

Paul and Brock stopped dead in the tracks as Katie looked up at the giant who had caused her injury. "Do you recognize this face? I bet you don't since you're responsible for giving me a _black_ _eye_! Where do you get off thinking that you can just do that to people?" Katie yelled at Brock, much to the utter shock of Paul, John and Punk, who were all staring at her wide eyed. Brock had no idea what to do.

"I was doing my _job_, I was trying to earn a living, and you sent me to a hospital! I have a right to feel _SAFE_ at my job; I have a right to go to work and not be pulled into a flying wrestler when you _CLEARLY_ _KNOW_ I am not a wrestler, nor a jobber, nor some _PLACEMENT_ for your benefit," Katie continued to yell.

John looked at Punk who was looking at his girlfriend in awe. A smile couldn't help but creep itself upon his face as he watch Katie belittle a man who was triple her size.

"I don't care how many seats you fill and how much money you're making this company, _YOU_ need to learn _RESPECT_! You can't just _waltz_ around here doing whatever you want because you're getting a big fat paycheque at the end of the day. You need to _RESPECT_ this company and _EVERYBODY_ that works for it, including the little guys like me! The fact that you showed no remorse for your actions or that you didn't even call to see if I was okay shows a total disrespect and lack of common courtesy that you need to_ LEARN AND EARN_ in order to get MY respect or the respect of anybody else around here. Quite frankly you completely disgust me at this point, and you are one of the most unnerving and incompetent people I have ever had the displeasure of meeting or working with."

Katie waited for Brock to say something but he said nothing; he just stared at her with his eyes bulging out of his head. Paul looked on with an amused expression, clearly proud of Katie for sticking up for herself; John and Punk continued to wear shocked expressions on their faces as they looked at Brock to see if he had anything to say.

When he didn't Katie huffed. "Good night then," Katie said sternly as she abruptly walked away. The four men stood looking at her, bemused, shocked and proud.

Xxxxx

Once Raw ended with yet another Brock/Triple H promo, Katie packed up her things and waited for Punk to get his things ready before they could board the bus back to the hotel. They had established that tonight they'd go out with some of the other superstars to the hotel bar for some dinner and drinks before retiring for the night; Katie was able to upload her photos to the website throughout the show, so she was free for the night to have fun.

As she stood in Punk's locker room, waiting for him to pack the last of his things, she saw the door open and Paul poke his head in the room.

"Kid," he said, referring to Katie. "You gave a better promo than most of the guys in this locker room ever did," he said, speaking about her confrontation with Brock. "I didn't know you had it in you. I thought Phil was going to get to him first."

"I wanted to," Punk spoke up before Katie could say something. "This one over here has a mind of her own. I think he was actually scared shitless of her though. I've never seen him look so..."

"Humbled?" Paul offered.

"Like a little bitch?" Katie offered, making both men burst into laughter.

"Regardless, good on you for sticking up for yourself, kid," Paul offered. "I'm off. Have yourselves a good night."

Once back at the hotel Katie and Punk changed into more comfortable clothes before they met john Cena, Kofi, AJ and the Miz for some food and drinks and the restaurant. While eating John told everybody the story of what had transpired between her and Brock, to which the other superstars applauded her for. Punk wrapped his arm affectionately around his girlfriend's shoulders as the story was told, knowing that, after what had happened with her cousin, dealing with Brock would be easy for her. As conversation became livelier and more drinks were in people's systems, nobody at the table really noticed Punk and Katie whispering back and forth to each other. Soon they managed to make up some excuse so that they could be excused from the table and go back to their rooms. They barely made it to the elevator without jumping each other's bones.

Xxxxx

I've been noticing that you guys are commenting a lot on the humour, so I'm definitely going to try and add more of that. What do you think of what Katie said to Brock? Thank you for all your lovely reviews...we are almost at 100, and almost near 80 followers! I could never imagine that so many people would enjoy this story. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!


	19. Chapter 19

AJ sat quietly at a table by herself in the hotel's dining room, stuffing herself with the food from the continental breakfast the hotel offered. She had gotten up fairly early, though she'd had a good night's sleep – and figured she should energize before a long, grueling work out with Kofi and John that she had agreed to go to last night. Though the food wasn't exactly what she would have preferred, she ate it anyway, knowing that it would all be burned off eventually.

From the corner of her eye she saw John Cena waiting in the buffet line for scrambled eggs, wearing a hat and trying to be incognito. When he turned around she waved him over, and he immediately made his way to her table.

"You're up early," he mentioned, sitting down. "I didn't think anybody else would be here."

AJ shrugged her shoulders. "Thought I'd get some decent food in so I wouldn't have to pick up breakfast on the way," she said.

He smiled at her. "I wish everyone thought like you did," he said.

As they sat and ate their breakfast, a couple of kids approached their table asking Cena for an autograph, to which he readily responded to. AJ could only imagine how much he was hounded on a daily basis; and to think he treated every kid with a smile on his face. Not a lot of people could put up with such attention, but Cena could – he was one of the few good ones.

"Are you ready to train today?" he asked, stuffing his face again with some scrambled eggs. "We're not gonna go easy on you just because you're a chick."

"Bring it on," AJ said definitively, opening her yogurt cup. "I'll put you in an Octopus hold. You won't even know what hit you."

"We'll see about that," Cena smiled. "That's if you can reach around, little one."

"Don't call me little!" AJ playfully screamed, pretending to flick some yogurt on her spoon at him. "You'll regret that later."

From behind AJ, Cena could see Katie enter the room, wearing a baggy long sleeve top, a pair of leggings, and a scarf, with her hair in a high, messy bun. Punk followed close behind in a simple white t-shirt and baggy pair of jeans, his hair parted in the centre and not slicked back as he usually styled it.

Cena waved them down as they waited in the buffet line for food. "The lovers are here," he said. AJ looked behind her and saw them waiting in line. Katie looked tired.

"Don't they look so cute together?" AJ asked, letting her 'girly' side get the best of her. "I mean, they're so good for each other."

"Oh my _gawd_ girl, I _know_," Cena said, mimicking AJ's voice. She sneered at him.

"I don't understand what Stephen was so worried about with them," AJ thought out loud as she continued to work on her yogurt.

"Well, Punk doesn't exactly have the best track record with women," Cena said, cocking his head to the side. "You know that as much as the next person."

AJ pursed her lips, knowing what Cena had just said was true. "I know, you're right," AJ admitted. "But it seems like he's changing. For the better."

"I think that's Katie's doing," John said. "She's a great girl. She knows where she stands. She was brought up well and isn't afraid to tell him when he's being an asshole. He needed that – he didn't need the doormats that kept flinging themselves at him, letting him get away with whatever he wanted," he continued. "He's met his match with her, you know what I mean?"

Before AJ could respond, she heard the voice of Punk behind her. "Lady and germ, why are you two up so early?"

"We're going to the gym later, thought we'd get some food in beforehand," AJ explained as Punk and Katie took their seats.

"What are _you_ doing up so early?" Cena asked, commencing his teasing of the couple. "I would have thought you guys tired each other out last night," he raised his eyebrows.

"John, please, not at breakfast," Katie moaned, but couldn't help but smile. She and Punk would never be able to get away from his torments, no matter how hard they tried or how good she came back at him. AJ rose from her seat and leaned across the table to slap John upside the head, shutting him up and showing it was three against one.

"So you're going to the gym? Mind if we tag along?" Punk asked, pouring some milk into his cereal.

"It's more of an athletic centre," AJ said. "It's all Kofi could find. There's a gym there too, but it's like this huge complex. There's everything."

"Cool. Count me in," Punk said. "Maybe I'll run on a track for the first time in like, a decade."

The four continued to talk about anything and everything before finishing their breakfast and going their separate ways. They were to meet again in the lobby at 10 to head to the gym, then be back by 2:30pm so they could get ready, pack, and go to the airport for 4pm.

As they all left the dining hall and walked back to the elevators, John couldn't help but get one more jab in before he had to get off on his floor. He looked over at Katie while they were all standing in the elevator, his eyebrows raised.

"By the way," John began, "Have you noticed it's fucking _August_ outside?" he asked. "Why the _fuck_ are you wearing a scarf?"

"It's...it's cold in this hotel," Katie tried to cover herself. "Plus it's fashionable."

"Sure it is," Cena rolled his eyes. "It's okay if you have hickeys you know. You don't need to hide it from us," he continued.

"JOHN!" AJ yelled.

"What?!" he objected. "It's true! They're acting like they're still sneaking around - " he looked at his two friends mid sentence, "You act like you're still sneaking around!" he repeated at his friends. "Everyone knows you two are banging each other!"

"You're so eloquent," Katie buried her head in her hands.

"He's always had his way with words," Punk said, shaking his head. "You're unbelievable."

"It's my job to tease you," John said, smiling. "As if the black eye wasn't enough, Katie," he winked playfully at her as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened.

"Leave now before I kill you," she said, pointing out the door. John stepped out, noticing the smile on Katie's voice as she tried to be as serious as possible. "Go do some five against one before we leave – God knows you need it."

Punk and AJ burst out into laughter as Cena stood outside with a confused look on his face. He tried to piece what she said together but it didn't make sense to him. "What does that even mean?" he asked out loud, much to the further amusement of Punk, Katie and AJ, who were still laughing. As the elevator bell rang and the doors began to close, in a split-second moment John realized what Katie meant by her statement.

"KATIE!" he screamed at her. But it was too late – the doors had already shut in his face.

Back in their hotel room now, Punk took a quick shower and Katie packed some of her belongings, besides her work-out clothes. From the night table, her phone rang. Seeing that it was Josh, she answered with an enthusiastic greeting.

"How is my favourite sister?" he asked.

"Very funny," she said in a deadpan voice. "Your _only_ sister, and don't you forget it."

"I've got to make this quick since my boss has been up my ass all week," he said. "How about after Raw we all head over to Daniel's cottage for the week?"

"Holy shit, that's perfect," Katie said in excitement. "It'll be fall, so all the leaves will be changing colour, and then we'll be by the lake...and the lake...yes, let's do it," she rambled.

"Sweet, I knew you'd be in. We'll go up Tuesday morning, yeah?" he asked.

"Uh...Josh..." Katie said hesitantly. "Phil has an autograph signing on the Thursday, so we have to stay in the city until then." There was a silence on the other end and Katie took it as her brother being surprised that he was coming. "Josh...you guys are okay with him coming right?"

"What? Sorry, that was my boss walking by, I had to make it seem like I was busy," he said. "Phil? Autograph signing? Of course he can come Katie!" he exclaimed. "Stay in Toronto until the Thursday – catch up with your friends and all that jazz, then head up Thursday night and surprise Emma and Ollie Friday morning. Spend the weekend at the cottage and then leave Sunday night," he said quickly, making plans for her on a whim. "I gotta go. Call Daniel if I didn't make sense."

Before Katie could even say bye to her brother, he was gone. She chuckled to herself as she set her phone down on the end table and walked into the bathroom, where Punk was styling his hair and wearing nothing more than a towel.

"That was Josh on the phone," she smiled. "I think we're going to go up to Daniel's cottage after your autograph signing on Thursday."

"Cool," Punk smiled. "Where's this cottage?"

"On Lake Joseph, in Muskoka," she said, as if Punk knew where that was. "It's seriously the most beautiful place on earth. You're going to love it. It'll be days of nothing but relaxing by a lake."

"As long as you'll be relaxing with me, I'm in," he smiled as he pulled in her and kissed her. "Are your brothers going to be nice to me?" he asked.

"I'll make sure they are," she smiled, running her fingers over his beard. "If they aren't nice I'll kick 'em where it hurts."

"That's not nice."

"You don't know my brothers," Katie said, wiggling out of his grip. "When the four of them are together, they deserve it."

Xxxxx

Again, a little filler chapter before Punk and Katie go to Toronto and meet her family. I'm hoping you guys got the five-against-one joke :P


	20. Chapter 20

Quick little note: there is going to be some basic Italian used in this chapter. Just so you don't get confused, Zia = aunt, Zio = uncle, Nonno = grandfather. Hope that helps!

Xxxxx

Back in Toronto now, Katie felt right at home amongst the hustle and bustle of the city. The minute the plane landed at the airport, she felt a sense of relief wash over her; here was a city where she knew the streets, she knew the people, and she knew the stores. She could do whatever she wanted here and didn't need to be afraid or reserved in her actions. She was home. Finally, she was home.

The WWE crew and superstars had arrived earlier in the day, but because of work and prior commitments, both on her part and her family's, she _still_ hadn't seen her dad or any of her brothers. Luckily for her, it was nearing 8:00pm, when they were due to arrive, and Katie could barely contain her excitement.

Punk was excited for Katie to see her family again but couldn't help but feel nervous for the situation that was about to unfold. He never really cared about first impressions with anyone, but seeing how serious he and Katie were, and how close she was with her family, he definitely wanted to impress them and make them see how much he cared for her. He wanted to show them how good he was to her and how good they were for each other – all while trying to remain true to his regular personality. He didn't want to become a different person altogether; he just wanted them to like him so he and Katie could move even more forward with things.

"Oh, and you'll just love Emma and Ollie, they are the cutest things on this planet," Katie rambled as she was multi-tasking on her computer, already posting some pictures from the flight to Toronto. "Emma is six and Ollie is four. You're seriously going to want to take them back to Chicago with you."

Punk heard what Katie was telling him but he wasn't really _listening_; he was trying to remember the names of all the members of her family so he wouldn't call someone by the wrong name. "Let me get this straight...Daniel is married to Jessica, Matt is married to Arianna, Josh has a girlfriend named Emily, and Mark is still single," Punk listed off the names, hoping he was right. "And your dad...his name is Joe."

A smiled crept up on Katie's face as she found Punk staring at her with a worried expression on his face. "Yes, you're right," she said softly, noticing him breathing a sigh of relief. "Are you nervous?" she asked.

"No," he immediately shot down the notion, but didn't know what to cover with. "I'm just...just..."

Katie rose from her seat and wrapped her hands around his waist. "Don't be nervous Phil. They're just my family. It's not like my dad's the king of Canada or something," she tried to calm him, but to no avail. "Let me tell you something about my family: we may be huge, and close, and loud and Italian," she chuckled slightly, "but we're just like any other family. We're no different than the people who live down the street or the ones who live in the mansions in Forest Hill."

"I'm sorry. You shouldn't be worrying about me," Punk apologized. "I shouldn't be bringing you down when you're so excited to see them."

"You're not bringing me down," she said. "I just want to know why you're so nervous."

"I know how close you are with your family," Punk began. "And I know how much they all mean to you, and...I don't know, I just want them to see that despite all my tattoos, and my lip ring, and my loveable asshole attitude, I'm a good person. I hope they see that."

Katie's eyes widened at Punk's revelation and she couldn't help but smile and playfully slap his chest. "Phil Brooks, look at you! Suddenly caring what other people think of you," she teased. "The 21 year old version of yourself would be slapping you right now. I must be pretty special if you're worrying about this so much."

Punk pulled her in closer and placed a light kiss on the tip of her nose. "You know very well the answer to that question, Katharine Cadenza," he whispered, kissing her quickly. "You know how special you are."

Katie internally swooned at what Punk had just said. She brought her hands up and placed them on either side of his face, feeling the stubble of his beard before pulling his face down and kissing him quickly again. She rested her hands on the back of his neck, playing with his hair there. "You have nothing to worry about," she whispered to him, their faces still close together. "They'll all love you."

"How can you be so sure?" he asked.

Katie shrugged her shoulders. "Because.." she paused. "Because I love you."

Realizing the magnitude of what she had just said to him, Katie looked into Punk's eyes for some sort of reaction or response to what she had just said. When he smiled at her, the biggest sense of relief washed over her. "Good," he responded quietly, smiling at her. "Cause I love you too."

He bent down and kissed her and soon they were in their own world. Both could not be happier in this moment, though it had to end abruptly when Katie's phone started buzzing and ringing from beside her laptop. Reluctantly Punk let her go so she could answer it, knowing that it was most likely a member of her family calling her. They were due any minute. When he heard the upbeat tone of her voice and the direction of the conversation, he knew her family had arrived.

"They're here," she smiled at him as she hung up the phone. "Let's go get them," she grabbed his hand.

As they walked through the hallways, both their hearts were beating out of their chests, but for different reasons. When they turned a corner and Punk saw a large group of people waiting, he knew this was it.

"Look who's heeeeeeere!" Katie announced from behind the group. Everybody spun around, and at Emma and Ollie's realization that the voice belonged to their aunt, they ran over to her. She bent down on her knees and extended her arms as they ran into her.

"Zia Katie!" they both screamed as they almost tackled her to the ground in hugs and kisses. She wrapped both arms around them protectively and kissed them back, tickling them and making them laugh more than they already were. "Zia Katie you're back! We missed you!" both kids yelled.

"Look at how big you both have gotten!" Katie exclaimed with tears in her eyes. "I missed you soooo much!" she continued to plant kisses on her niece and nephew. "Look at you both! Just look at you!"

Punk approached the scene timidly, watching as she stood up and hugged the other members of her family while Emma and Ollie practically hung on to her leg. For a few minutes they were all in their own little world, oblivious to him. They talked and hugged and gushed and hugged some more, all the while Katie had a giant smile on her face. He had never seen her so happy. He had never seen _any woman_ he'd known so happy before.

Suddenly she looked back, searching for Punk, and once she saw him her smile became even brighter, if that was possible. She waved for him to join them as he was soon at her side, a small smile on his face. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Phil," she said, putting her arm around his back. She named off every member in attendance and they smiled at him warmly.

"It's good to finally meet you," Josh said first.

"Oh, lies. You're just excited to meet him since you watch him every Monday," Matt interrupted, forever the jokester. He looked back at Punk. "So do we call you Phil...or..."

"Whatever you prefer," Punk said. "Sometimes my own sisters even call me Punk, so it doesn't really matter to me."

"Mah, what are you? I raised you better than that," Katie's dad exclaimed suddenly. "When you meet a man you address him by his first name, nothing more, nothing less."

"Yeah but dad, you don't understand, he - "

"HEY! You're forgetting _us_!" a small voice exclaimed from below everybody. They looked down to see Emma and Ollie crossing their arms over their chest angrily.

"No we weren't! We were just saving the best for last!" Katie exclaimed.

"You must be Emma and Ollie," Punk said, bending down on his knees so he could be at eye level with the two kids. "Your Auntie Katie has told me a lot about you," he said.

"Auntie?" Ollie asked.

"Ollie, Mr. Phil isn't Italian, he doesn't know what a zia is," Daniel told his son. "Why don't you tell him what we call Katie?"

"Katie is my _zia_, not my _auntie_," Ollie said.

"Ollie, they're the same thing," Katie tried to explain to her nephew.

"So this must be the Cadenza family!" everybody heard a voice announce, and they all turned around to see Triple H standing in a suit with a smile on his face. He approached the family and shook all their hands, Katie's brother's in awe at the figure standing before them. Seeing him on TV was one thing, but seeing him in person was unreal. As they exchanged pleasantries and small talk, Paul announced he would personally take them on a tour of the arena and show them how Raw functioned from the backstage level, which everyone was excited about.

Punk pulled Katie off to the side as Paul talked some more with her family. "I've got to get ready for the show," he said. "Go with your family. I'll see you after."

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked, a smile on her face.

Punk chuckled to himself. "No, it wasn't," he admitted. "Go spend some time with your family. You're the happiest girl in the world right now, Katie."

Xxxxx

Even after Raw, Katie had her giant smile plastered on her face. Stephanie McMahon had arranged for her family to stay in a private box where they could watch the show. Emma and Ollie were given some merchandise and everybody got to meet some of the superstars as Paul took them on the backstage tour. It was as if her brothers were young again and they were meeting their heroes. Even her dad was impressed with everything he was shown, and he had been a fan for, of course, longer than anybody.

As the night came to a close and the road crew began packing things away for the next city, Punk met up with Katie and her family backstage. It relieved him that when he approached the giant group he was included into the conversation with ease, with no awkwardness or questions asked. It was as if – what he liked to think – they were already accepting him, even after their small interaction. He followed them out of the arena to where they had parked their cars and said goodbye to them all as Emma and Ollie fell asleep in their parents' arms. They must have had one hell of a night.

Katie turned to Punk as her family got into their cars. "I think I'm going to go home tonight," she told him, biting her lip. "I hope you don't mind."

Punk laughed at her for thinking he'd be mad. "Why would I be mad at that? You haven't been home in months! Go!" he said, encouraging her. "I'll call you tomorrow morning. I've got a rental car, and I made sure it had GPS, so I can meet you wherever," he told her. "Spend some time with your family Katie. Don't worry about me. I've got Cena and Kofi to keep me company."

She smiled at him before getting up on her tippy toes and kissing him. "Don't get too comfy with Cena," she teased. "I...I love you," she added, almost hesitantly.

"I could hear that all day long," he smiled as he kissed her before letting her go. "I love you too."


	21. Chapter 21

My apologies for not updating sooner. Last Thursday, the 23rd, was my 21st birthday (aaahhh!) and I celebrated that night with my family. On the Friday, I went to a Bruce Springsteen concert (which was AH-MAZING) and then on Saturday I celebrated my birthday with my friends at a bar. After that some drama happened with some of my friends that I'm still kind of a mess about, so I had absolutely no inspiration for writing. However, writing this chapter definitely released some stress. It is extra long for you guys as an apology. Hope you guys enjoy it!

Xxxxx

The time Katie had off in Toronto was a blessing, but she really wished she had more of it. On Monday night she went back home with her father and caught up with him about everything that had happened these past couple of months, including how her relationship started and how life was on the road. They stayed up until 2am talking until they decided to call it a night. Daniel, Matt, Josh and Mark had all left for the cottage after Raw, deciding to make the most of the lack of traffic late at night when there was usually grid lock all the way up to Lake Joseph on the weekends. On Tuesday morning Sheamus had come over and had lunch with Katie and her dad, who enjoyed seeing his 'fifth son'. After lunch Katie drove Sheamus to the airport, where he had to fly into Ottawa for a Smackdown show, and went to go pick up Punk at his hotel so she could take him site-seeing around Toronto. She brought him to the various neighbourhoods around Toronto she loved, showed him the University of Toronto campus, where she spent five years of her life studying, and ultimately brought him back to her house at the request of her dad for a home-cooked dinner. The dinner was surprisingly calm and unnerving; Punk and her father got along very well. Joe wanted to know his only daughter's boyfriend more – see past the tattoos and lip ring. He came to find a respectful man, one he could see that truly loved Katie and wanted her to be happy. It didn't take long for him to realize this. Of course there were the few awkward silences and minimal things he and Phil didn't agree with, but for the most part, they agreed on a lot. Joe could tell Punk treated Katie with respect and that it all wasn't just a show. It was as if Joe raised him himself – he saw a lot of the values he instilled into his boys instilled into Phil as well. It made him proud, again, knowing that Katie picked a good person and was in good hands with Phil.

Wednesday Katie took Punk site-seeing some more and met up with some friends for lunch and dinner. Though she loved seeing everyone again, it was bittersweet knowing she wouldn't see these people again – some of them she had grown up with – until Christmas; even then it wasn't a sure bet, seeing as it was the holiday season and everyone would understandably be busy. She savoured the moment as much as she could. On Thursday Katie began packing her things again for life on the road, but also for the cottage weekend. She made sure to pack some bathing suits – swimming in the lake was a must – but also some sweaters as she knew nights could get cold. She cautioned Punk to pack the same way as well before he left to go to the video game store he was having his signing at. She was going to meet him there later, nearer to the starting time, so she could work and take pictures for the WWE blog before they left for the cottage.

When she arrived at the store she immediately noticed the lineup that circled almost around the block. She parked at the back so that once Punk was done, they could make a covert exit and begin the two-and-a-half hour drive up to Daniel's cottage. They greeted with a kiss as Punk was in a back room signing some mail-in autograph requests before the signing. Katie took out her camera from her purse and snapped a photo of him, the table scattered with various wrestling paraphernalia that he had already signed.

He looked at her skeptically. "You're working tonight?" he asked as he continued to sign things.

"I'm always working," she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The car is out back. Where are your bags? I'll go put them in now."

Punk motioned with his head to the side of the room where his bags lay on the floor. Katie walked over and picked them up before walking towards the same door she came in. Before she kicked open the back door an associate from the store told Punk he had ten more minutes to sign before the meet and greet took place.

Katie stood against the wall of the store, photographing the line of people before Punk made his grand entrance. So many of them were wearing his t-shirts or other promotional gear and had products of their own to get signed by him. When the associate announced Punk's entrance and he walked through the doors, everybody went crazy. They cheered and chanted his name and flashes were going off everywhere from cameras and phones. Soon the autograph signing was underway, Punk meeting and interacting with all of his fans while Katie took pictures of the interactions and other activity happening in the line. Once she was done taking pictures, she quickly edited them and uploaded them to the blog, trying to come up with some funny captions and witty remarks for the photographs of the people who went all out, dressing up like Punk and scribbling Xs on the backs of their hands.

Punk took the time to make sure that everybody in line got an autograph, which meant that the signing lasted almost an hour and a half longer than it should have. When it was done, he was visibly tired but also happy from meeting his fans. The associates from the store thanked him profusely for the signing and took some last minute pictures with him before he and Katie were out the door and on the road to the cottage.

"Sorry about the wait," he said from the passenger's seat as they merged onto the highway. "I just always feel bad for the fans who don't get the autographs."

"Don't worry about it," Katie waved him off. "I totally get where you're coming from. That happened to me once."

"Seriously? What happened?"

"When I was about four Bret Hart was doing a signing at a store near my house and Mark wanted to go, but when the day came along he totally forgot about it and when he remembered, it was really late, but we went anyway. The line wrapped around the entire store all the way to the back of the building but Mark, my dad and I stood there for hours because Mark was determined to get an autograph. Anyway, we were about 150 people away from Bret Hart when they announced the signing had ended and Bret was leaving. Mark was crushed. Just when we thought all hope was lost this limo drives by the line, and out of the sunroof pops Bret Hart, and everybody just went crazy. He was waving at everyone, Mark was going crazy, and the limo ended up stopping so people could go up to it and shake his hand," Katie told Punk, who was smiling at the story. "I remember my dad picking me up and I leaned over and gave him a high five, and then he blew a kiss at me and I blushed," she continued, making Punk laugh. "Then the limo left and this woman came out and handed out these papers that Bret had signed beforehand to everyone, so my brother and I got one. This is why Bret Hart was my first crush," she smiled, looking over at Punk.

"That's crazy," Punk commented. "I never knew Bret could be such a charmer."

"I was in love with him for the longest time because of that. When my brothers and I would play wrestle I would demand to be him if I wasn't a referee. And when I danced, I made sure all my tutus were pink so that I looked like him," she said, which caused Punk to laugh even more.

"So what would happen if he just showed up backstage one day?" he asked.

"I'd probably bow down at his feet," Katie admitted in a dead-pan voice. "Totally do the Wayne's World 'we're not worthy!' chant over and over until he allowed me to stand on me feet again and be in his presence."

Katie and Punk talked for the duration of the two hour trip to Daniel's cottage. Once they had arrived, the sun was already down and the lake calm. Katie pulled into the driveway of the cottage and Punk wondered if she had pulled into the right house.

"_This_ is Daniel's cottage?" he asked, measuring up the giant house. It was built out of logs, had a massive wrap-around deck, and was a water-front property. Punk didn't know a lot about real estate, but he knew _this_ cost a shit-ton of money. "Does he work in corporate law or something? This place is fucking huge."

"No, not corporate law," Katie said as she turned off the car. "He's a lawyer for a construction family that is a pretty big deal in Toronto. They own a bunch of companies. You know how we passed through that subdivision on the way up here? Vaughan?"

"Yeah."

"The company he works for basically built majority of the houses up there," Katie said. "Don't even ask me how he landed that gig. He's worked hard and now he's got money coming out of his ass. Not to mention Jessica does pretty well herself."

"Jesus," Punk said as he took off his seatbelt and surveyed the cottage again. "He probably makes more money than I do."

They gathered their things from the trunk and walked up the porch. Katie knocked on the door, making sure not to ring the doorbell as she knew Emma and Ollie were sleeping, and her and Punk being there was supposed to be a surprise. Jessica answered the door and invited them in. Her brothers were soon at the door, chocolate covering most of their lips, and Katie immediately knew they had been making s'mores.

"You fatasses couldn't wait, could you?" Katie asked as she set her bag down and took off her shoes. "Did you leave some for the children? You know, who they're actually for?"

"Of course we did," Matt took mock offense to his sister's chastising. "What do you think we are? Heartless?"

"Sometimes, yes, actually, I do," Katie said. "Now where are we sleeping?"

"End of the hall," Daniel said, and Katie immediately knew what he was talking about. "Are you guys going to be ok in there?"

"We're not teenagers," Katie told her brother, grabbing her bag again, causing Punk to grab his as well. He couldn't keep up with the banter between the siblings so he just stood in silence, looking back and forth at them all, trying to make sense of the situation. "If you're that serious about it, Phil can take that room and I can take the couch."

"You can always take the basement," Matt remarked, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

"I am NOT sleeping in that God-forsaken basement!" Katie exclaimed, trying to smack her brother but he moved out of the way just in time so that she missed. She turned to Punk and felt the need to explain. "This basement is straight out of a horror movie. I swear to God there's a serial killer just waiting for me down there."

Punk laughed at the seriousness of her fear before he felt Josh slap him on the shoulder. "You've been so quiet. You can talk, you know. We're not going to bite."

"I just can't keep up with this!" he shrugged his shoulders, motioning at Katie and Matt.

"He's tired, Josh. He was signing autographs for like, four hours before we came here," Katie explained.

"You guys should probably go to bed then," Arianna suggested. "Tomorrow we'll start our fun. Breakfast is at nine. That's when Emma and Ollie will be down, anyway."

"Sounds lovely," Katie commented as she and Punk walked towards the stairs. "Goodnight ladies," she nodded her head at Jessica, Arianna and Emily. "And goodnight buffoons," she nodded her head at her brothers.

She and Punk climbed the stairs quietly, Katie pointing out where everyone was sleeping to him. He was still in complete awe of the house and how beautiful it was. He couldn't imagine what the lake looked like during the day, or even during the sunset. They walked into their room and found a small double bed – he and Katie would definitely be cuddling tonight. She showed him the small ensuite bathroom before setting her bag down on the bed and immediately pulling out her pajamas and changing in front of him. Punk followed suit and stripped down to his boxers and pulled out an old Ramones t-shirt to sleep in before hopping into bed and pulling the covers over he and Katie.

"I hope you're happy," she whispered to him as they spooned in the bed. From the quietness in their room they could vaguely hear the conversation that her brothers and their wives were still having downstairs.

Punk squeezed her tighter. "I am. I'm very happy right now," he assured her as he kissed the crown of her head. "I hope you're happy."

"I love you, Phil," she whispered as she traced shapes on one of his biceps. "Tomorrow will be amazing. Just you wait."

Xxxxx

At 8:30 Punk and Katie awoke the next morning and each took a shower before heading downstairs and helping Jessica prepare breakfast for everyone. Much to Punk's surprise, someone had told the family he was a pescetarian, so they planned accordingly and offered to make him oatmeal for breakfast instead of the bacon and eggs being offered. When he apologized for the inconvenience, Jessica was adamant about it not being a big deal – Emily was a vegetarian as well, so they knew what to do.

At 9 almost all the food was ready, and Daniel came down the stairs with Emma and Ollie in his arms, covering their eyes. Katie smiled widely as she finished setting the table, and Punk watched as he continued cutting some strawberries.

"Are you ready for your surprise?" Daniel asked his kids as they nodded their heads. "Okay! Open your eyes!"

Upon realization that their beloved aunt was standing in the room, they screamed bloody murder, wiggled out of their father's arms, and ran over to her, much like they did when they saw her at Raw. When they had finished attacking Katie they ran over to Punk, much to his surprise. He didn't think they would be this warm and welcoming so soon.

"Hello Mr. Phil," Emma said as she hugged him. "Are you staying the weekend with Zia Katie?"

"Yes I am," Punk nodded his head. As soon as he answered he felt something crawling onto his lap. He looked on the other side of him and noticed Ollie climbing on top of him and sitting on his lap.

"Mr. Phil, I love strawberries! Can I help you?" he asked, taking a strawberry from the bowl and stuffing it in his mouth.

"Of course you can little man!" Punk said as he readjusted Ollie's place on his lap. "How about I cut them and you put them into the bowl for me? You gotta promise not to eat them though!" he joked, causing Ollie to laugh. "Can you do that for me?"

"Yes Mr. Phil," Ollie agreed as Punk handed him a sliced strawberry to put in the bowl.

Soon everyone was around the table talking and sharing food. Punk participated heartily in conversation and even helped out with Emma and Ollie, despite Daniel and Jessica asking him not to so he could enjoy his breakfast. Katie looked over at him many times during breakfast and smiled at him, impressed at how good he was with Emma and Ollie and how he didn't seem bothered by anything. She was also impressed at her brothers for not making things awkward for him, and for making him feel right at home – what she had asked them to do – so that he could have the most relaxing time possible.

After breakfast Josh announced to everybody to get their bathing suits on so they could swim in the lake. They retreated back to their bedroom and changed, Punk into a pair of generic black board shorts and Katie into a black bikini. It wasn't skimpy by any means – it was actually modest from what he'd seen other girls wear – but it hugged her in all the right places and showed just the right amount of skin. He gawked at her as she emerged from the washroom and continued to stare at her as she tried to find her towel and cover-up in her bag.

"What are you looking at?" she asked as he continued to stare at her with a smirk on his face.

"You look _incredibly_ hot right now," Punk admitted. "I'm warning you now, I'm gonna have a hard time trying to compose myself," he said as he unexpectedly pulled her down onto his lap, a small shriek emerging from her at the sudden movement.

"You've seen me naked countless times before," she said. "I don't understand how I'm suddenly so hot now."

"Well you always are, Katie. But there's something about a bikini..." Punk trailed off, plating some kisses on her neck that made her tilt her head back in satisfaction.

"Not...not..." Katie tried to say 'not now', but who was she kidding? She was enjoying every second of this. She knew where it was headed and was apprehensive about doing it in a house full of her family and two small children, but when Punk picked her up and brought her to the washroom and closed the door, it was as if he was reading her mind. What transpired was quick and to-the-point, but not any less pleasurable than any of their other intimate experiences. They just had to make sure they weren't too loud about it, which Punk took care of when he stifled Katie's (what could have been) loud moan with a kiss.

When they emerged everyone was outside with their towels and umbrellas set up already. Emma and Ollie were hard at work filling their bucket with sand, and the boys were debating what to do before agreeing to take the boat out for a ride on the water.

"You boys go ahead first, we'll stay here and go later," Emily said as she leaned back on her towel, ready to tan. "We have the whole day."

"Sounds good in my books," Matt agreed. "Daniel, Josh, Mark, Phil...to the boathouse!" he pointed to his right. There were so many surprises at this house that Punk didn't even know where to start. A boat? They had a boat too?

"Put on your lifejackets!" Arianna exclaimed before they left. "I mean it! They'll arrest you if you don't!"

The boys walked over to the boathouse and grabbed their lifejackets before boarding the boat and getting it out of the house. They waved off to the women before Daniel steered it away from the cottage and towards the middle of the lake. Once they reached a substantial distance from the cottage, Daniel stopped the boat and anchored it, then took out some water bottles and handed them out to everyone as they sat in the sun and reveled at the view before them. The water was blue for miles, and the trees greener than Punk had ever seen. Cottages lined the coastlines of the lake, some with their own boathouses, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The day was perfect.

"So, Phil," Josh said after a couple moments of silence. "We should talk."


	22. Chapter 22

_So, Phil...we should talk._

Punk looked over at Josh, trying his best to remain calm as an awkward silence surrounded the five men on the boat. He saw all eyes on him, and he tried looking at them all but got too nervous. He was stuck on a boat, in the middle of a lake, with Katie's four older brothers. _Great._

"W...what about?" he asked, trying not to sound nervous. He thought about jumping off the boat and attempting to swim away, but that would make him look like a complete tool. He was stuck.

"You and Katie seem to really like each other," Matt began, taking a swig from his water bottle. "How did it all begin?"

Punk looked at all four brothers, who didn't have smiles on their faces. They meant business. What was he supposed to say? _I chased your sister until she fell in love with me? I helped her when she became a cripple? We slept in the same bed together for weeks before anything was even established?_ He felt as if anything he could say would result in a punch in the face. "We just have the same interests, I guess," he tried to explain. "I guess it all started when she saw me watch the Walking Dead on a plane ride..."

"Interesting," Mark commented as he looked at Matt. "She told us you ripped on her when you found out how educated she was."

"I'm sorry about that," Punk said immediately in a trembling voice. "I was being an idiot. I have a hard time adjusting to new people, and that wasn't my brightest moment. If it's any consolation your sister gave me an earful about it that night."

"That sounds like something she'd do," Mark said, smiling a bit. "She's proud of what she's accomplished, even if she doesn't always show it."

Another awkward silence fell before the men. Punk was sitting stiffly in an upright position, trying to be ready for any attack that was going to happen next.

"You love her already, don't you?" Daniel asked, taking his sunglasses off and staring at Punk.

A large lump formed in Punk's throat, but he couldn't deny what Daniel had just said. He nodded his head a couple of time before he affirmed it, "Yeah. I really do."

"I'm sure she's told you about us killing you and burying your body in the Canadian Arctic if you hurt her," Matt said.

Punk allowed a small smile to creep up on his face. "She has."

"Well we just want you to hear it from the horses' mouths," Matt continued. "From what Katie tells me you're an awesome guy, and you're treating her like gold, which is all we can ask for," he continued. "But we mean it. Hurt her and you're dead."

"I won't hurt her," Punk told the brothers. "I love her. She makes me happy, and I like to think I make her happy too."

"You do make her happy. I've never seen her this happy in years, and it isn't just because she's travelling," Josh said. "We're not going to deny something that's blatantly obvious. She's in love with you too, and she's happy - "

"And we really like you too, so that's a plus," Matt interrupted, garnering a playful punch on the shoulder from Daniel.

"I guess what we're trying to say – in the least eloquent and most drawn out terms possible – is that we're happy for you two. We really are," Daniel continued Josh's speech. "You're a big part in making our sister as happy as she can possibly be, and we appreciate that. You're a great guy, Phil."

"Thanks, guys," Punk said genuinely as he let out the breath he was holding. "And here I am thinking you were going to team up and throw me off this boat for dating your sister."

"What? No! We're not like that," Mark said.

"We're smarter than to try and start something with a professional wrestler," Matt quipped. "Plus if Katie found out she'd probably beat the shit out of us. That woman gives a mean purple nerple."

Xxxxx

The men came back about two hours later from their boating excursion and decided to get started on lunch. Daniel was bust grilling hamburgers and hot dogs – even special vegetarian ones for Punk and Emily – while Punk and Katie decided to make some potato salad and regular salad. The entire family sat around the giant dining table outside to feast on the lunch, with the soft waves from the lake splashing up against the coast. Punk looked around him – he felt like he was in paradise, and he never wanted to leave.

Soon after lunch everybody decided to relax for the rest of the afternoon by lying on the beach and tanning. Katie set up her towel beside Punk's and lay down beside him, offering him some sunscreen which he readily accepted. Just as Punk lay down on his towel, he felt something climb on top of him. He opened his eyes to see Ollie with a cheeky grin on his face. "Hi Mr. Phil."

"Hey bud, what's up?" Punk asked, leaning back on his arms so he could better see Ollie.

"Mr. Phil, what are all these pictures on you?" he asked, pointing to the giant skull on his chest.

Katie turned her head towards them, waiting for Punk's response. "Uh...those are tattoos Ollie."

"Do they wash off?"

Punk chuckled to himself. "Nope, they never wash off, no matter how hard I scrub."

"What?! No way!" Ollie was in disbelief. "So these are on you forever?"

"Yup. Forever and ever and ever," Punk said. "Don't ever think of getting one, okay? They hurt really bad," he felt obliged to say.

"Really? Like how bad?" the curious little boy asked.

"Like _this_ bad," Punk quipped, and in one sudden movement, he began tickling Ollie, causing him to burst out in uncontrollable giggles. He scooped Ollie into his arms and sat him down on his knee once he was done and helped smooth out the little boy's hair so it didn't look so disheveled. That didn't last long though, as Ollie said he had something to show Punk, and ran inside to get it. He came back out seconds later and showed Punk his new baseball glove.

"Last week my daddy brought me to the sports store and he bought me a baseball glove because I needed a new one," Ollie began rambling. "Do you want to play some baseball with me?" he asked.

"Of course I do!" Punk exclaimed.

"Ollie baby, I think Phil wants to rest for a bit," Katie intervened, thinking that Punk was going to play with him out of obligation.

"No no, don't worry, I really want to play with my new baseball buddy," Punk said as he looked both at Katie and a smiling Ollie. "I love baseball! Don't you see my hat?" he pointed to his ever-present Cubs hat he was wearing.

"That's not a Blue Jays hat," Ollie frowned at him.

"Blue Jays Smue Jays Ollie! The Cubs are the best baseball team in the world!"

"The Cubs haven't won in one hundred years!"

"One hundred and _three_ to be exact," Punk said, causing Katie to laugh. "And how do you know that anyway? Aren't you only four years old mister?"

"This kid memorizes facts like it's going out of style. Baseball and hockey are his favourites," Katie intervened again.

Punk stood up and scooped up Ollie in his arms for the second time. "Alright, looks like it's going to be Blue Jays versus Cubs today," he said, leading them off to a spot where they wouldn't bother everybody else. They played catch for the remainder of the afternoon, Punk finding an old glove in the shed and showing Ollie a few tricks.

Katie looked on admiringly at how good Punk was with the kids and couldn't help but smile at what she saw before her. Jessica was looking on as well before she turned to Katie and smiled. "I think you've got a winner, Katie."

Xxxxx

Please review and let me know what you think! I got a minimal amount last update so I'm starting to think people are bored with this story...


	23. Chapter 23

Saturday morning started out just as Friday did – Katie and Punk were cuddled in their small bed together, listening to the silent ruckus of her brothers waking up and moving around the cottage. The night before, the family had decided to watch a movie before going to bed. Since tonight was everybody's last night at the cottage, they decided to make it special and have a great meal for dinner and a "night to remember", according to Matt, whatever that meant.

"Do we really need to get out of bed?" Punk asked Katie as they lay together in the bed. As per usual, Katie was using Punk's chest as a pillow, and he was running his fingers through the ends of her hair.

Katie smiled and shifted her position slightly in the bed. "If you want to stay in here I can make up an excuse for you when I go downstairs," she offered.

"I'm not staying here alone, woman," Punk said as if it were obvious. "I want you to be in here with me."

Katie chuckled as she flipped from her back to her stomach and looked at Punk. "That's quite the request, mister," she smiled wryly.

Before Punk could respond, he heard the door burst open and little footsteps running towards the bed. Before he knew it, Emma had jumped on their bed, giggling at what she had just done. She managed to stand herself up on the bed, looking down at the two who were still shocked at what had just happened. "Emma! What on earth are you doing?" Katie asked as she covered her forehead with her hand.

"Did I scare you?!" she asked. "Daddy said I wasn't allowed to, but I didn't listen."

"Of course you did!"

"Did you come here to bring me breakfast in bed?" Punk asked, getting a frown from Emma.

"No, silly! We still need to make breakfast!" Emma retorted.

"So you come in here without any food?!" Punk asked, pretending to be flabbergasted. Emma shook her head with a smile on her face. "Well then what are we doing in here? Shouldn't we be making breakfast?" He and Katie got out of bed with Emma still standing on it, and when Katie held out her arms so she could carry Emma downstairs, Emma ignored her, turned to Punk, and extended her own arms so he could pick her up. He picked her up with ease and balanced her on his hip, much to the surprise of Katie. As Katie looked on, Punk shrugged his shoulders playfully at her, and they made their way downstairs where Jessica, Daniel and Mark were getting out the ingredients for breakfast. Punk set Emma down on the counter as he noticed everybody else outside, and quickly helped Jessica with the scrambling of the eggs. Katie quickly set the table as everyone else made their way inside and soon breakfast was underway.

After breakfast everybody put their bathing suits on again for another chance to lounge by the lake and swim in it for the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon. Daniel had taken Emma and Ollie to the supermarket with him to buy some last minute food for the massive going away dinner they were going to have. Katie and Punk took the chance to do some swimming in the lake as Matt, Josh, Mark, Jessica, Emily and Arianna sat on the beach and tanned.

"I can't believe how over you are with Emma and Ollie," Katie mentioned as she did a couple of backstrokes in the lake. "And so soon, too."

"You say that as if you're surprised. Kids _love_ me," Punk commented, bringing a smile to Katie.

"Screaming and running away crying is love in your books?" Katie asked rhetorically. "I should do that more often then...maybe backstage in front of everyone, just to show how much I love you."

Punk grabbed her underwater and pulled her towards him, kissing her quickly before letting her go. "You'd never do that."

Katie just smiled at him and began to swim away. "Follow me," she called as she was a couple of strokes ahead of him. Punk did what he was told until he saw Katie waiting for him behind a bunch of bushes that were growing from the bank of the lake. As he approached her she had a smirk on her face. She grabbed onto him and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his torso underwater.

"What are you doing, missy?" he asked as he pushed some hair out of her face that had been matted on her forehead.

"What do you think?" she asked. "Taking advantage of what little time I have alone with you," she said before planting her lips on his.

Xxxxx

"There was that one time when Katie took a nosedive and ate the grass at that family reunion."

"What about when she had that crush on Josh's friend Adam but barfed on him during that scary movie she wanted to watch to prove she wasn't a 'scardie cat'?"

"Or how about that time when she was convinced someone was going to rob our house so she left out a 'poisonous drink' for the robber which consisted of water and soap, and then dad drank it?"

"I was FOUR! You can't blame me!" Katie tried to defend herself as they kept embarrassing her in front of Punk, who was howling with laughter at the stories they told him. Daniel had already began grilling the steaks, salmon planks, and hot dogs for the kids while everyone else was busy making a side dish.

"And when we told you dad was burping bubbles for weeks because of it you got so scared," Matt continued as he and Arianna were slicing tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. "You thought a bubble was going to explode in his stomach."

"That was _your_ fault," she blamed Matt, making another potato salad with Punk. "You guys would always say that stuff to me when I was young. Like that one time you told me I was adopted because I'm the only one in the family with green eyes," she said.

"That's still weird, you know," Josh commented playfully, getting a sneer from his sister.

"Or when you told me my feet were too small and daddy would have to take me out of dance," she wanted to list everything they had ever said to her. "I cried for nights because of that!"

"It was all out of _love_," Mark said, helping Daniel by grilling the vegetables.

"I'm sure it was," Katie sent him the evil eyes.

"You guys are too much," Punk managed to say in between laughs. "She's told me a few things before, but not like this."

"Like what?" Mark asked.

"When she was two and you dressed her up as the armadillo from the Rock the Casbah video," Punk said, garnering a bunch of mouths dropped from those surrounding him. "What?" he asked.

"That reminds me..." as Josh ran off inside the house.

"_Where_ is he going?" Katie demanded as she watched him run inside the house.

"Oh you'll see..." Matt warned as he smiled as his younger sister. "We have a surprise for you, Katharine."

Josh emerged from the house moment later with a box, and Katie immediately knew they were photos. "Josh, NO. PUT THEM AWAY," she demanded.

"I bet Phil would want to see these," Josh commented as he took out one picture from the box. "Specifically this one," he said as he gave it to Punk, much to a horrified Katie.

Punk burst out into laughter at what he saw before him. It was the famed picture. Each of her brothers were dressed up as members of the Clash, and there Katie was, sitting on the floor, with chocolate all around her lips, in an armadillo costume. From beside him Katie put her head in her hands at the sound of Punk's insane laughter, and her brothers all gathered around to take another look at the picture and laugh.

"I'm going to murder you in your sleep tonight," she bellowed at Mark.

"I'm shakin' in my boots, Katie," he replied sarcastically.

"Let me see these," Punk said, taking the photo box from Mark and placing it in front of him. "I need something to blackmail her with."

As Punk looked at the pictures he saw the progression of everyone in the Cadenza family. Obviously these weren't all the photos of the family's history, but there were substantial life moments that he saw. He saw pictures of each of the brothers holding a newborn Katie; her first major holidays, along with her birthday, what seemed to be her first dance recital; more birthdays, and random shots of her and her brothers.

"Oh wow...I almost forgot about this," Josh said from behind Punk, who didn't even know he was looking at the pictures as well. Josh took the photo from Punk's hands and held it up to get a better look at this. "This was when you were eight and you had that dance recital," he began, Katie now paying attention to him. "Remember your tutu broke right before you went on and dad had to superglue it to your leotard so it would stay on?"

Katie chuckled to herself, remembering exactly the moment Josh was explaining to her. "Yeah, I remember Judy refused to fix it because she said I should have been more careful with it," she said.

Josh huffed from behind her, giving the picture back to Punk. "Well, you won first place anyway kiddo, so you showed them all."

Punk looked at Katie and saw the smallest bit of hurt in her eyes at the fact that Judy had been brought up in conversation, albeit by her. He smiled at her, leaning in and kissing her quickly before whispering, "Atta girl," to her before continuing looking at the pictures.

Dinner was soon served. Punk and Emily feasted on giant salmon filets while everyone else had a steak to eat, along with the numerous sides made such as the potato salad, caprese salad (tomatoes and mozzarella cheese), grilled vegetables and rice. Her brothers began cracking open the beers, and the women had some as well, as Punk and the kids were content with their iced tea and lemonade. More stories were told around the dinner table, and everybody shared embarrassing moments, including Punk. Once dinner was finished, Arianna ushered out the desserts. The sun was going down behind the lake, and the sky was painted orange and pink.

Once all the eating was finished and most of the buttons broke off of everyone's jeans, everybody agreed to pull up their chairs and watch the sun set before calling it a night and going to bed. Daniel started a fire in the fire pit as Katie helped Emma and Ollie change into their pajamas. Once everybody was back outside, they took their respective seats and continued to talk about anything and everything while watching the sun set over the lake.

Emma and Ollie had fought with each other on who got to sit on Punk's lap, seeing as he had the best view of the lake. When he allowed both of them to, they couldn't have been happier.

"Mommy said you and Zia Katie have to leave tomorrow," Emma said to Punk as everyone else engaged in their own conversations. "She said we won't see you or Zia until Christmas."

Punk looked down at the little girl, and from the bottom of his heart he wanted to tell her that he didn't have to leave, or that he didn't want to, but he had to tell her the truth. "She's right, Emma. We have to fly out of Canada tomorrow."

"That's not fair! I didn't play with you yet. You haven't seen my house! Or my room! It's pink you know. And you haven't seen all my dollies. Or my new bicycle," Emma began to ramble.

"But who's gonna play baseball with me?" Ollie asked suddenly, and Punk swore he could see tears in his eyes.

"Well you can play with daddy, or any of your Zios. Maybe you can teach them some of the tricks I taught you," Punk offered, his heart breaking.

"But it's not the same," Ollie pouted. "I don't want you to leave Mr. Phil."

Punk's heart broke into pieces at the sound of Ollie's voice. "I'll tell you what," Punk began. "How about I give you my phone number, and you can call me whenever you want," he said, garnering wide eyes and a big smile from Ollie. "That way, whenever you want to talk about baseball, you can just call me."

"Really?!" Ollie asked, shocked.

"You betcha!" Punk nodded his head.

"What about me?" Emma asked. "Can I get your phone number too?" she asked.

"Of course you can! Both of you can call me whenever you want and we can talk about whatever you want, okay? Maybe one day you guys and mommy and daddy can come to Chicago," Punk said.

"Can we go see Wiggley Field?" Ollie asked, not being able to say Wrigley Field properly, making Punk laugh.

"The first thing we're going to do is go see Wrigley Field," Punk nodded his head. "And the first place we bring Emma is the My American Girl store."

"But I'm Canadian!"

"It's a doll store!" Suddenly Emma's eyes went wide. "I'll buy you all the dollies you want and even their clothes."

"You're the best Mr. Phil," Ollie said, hugging Punk and resting his head on his chest. Emma did the same once she noticed her brother doing it. "I can't wait to go to Wiggley Field."

Punk looked up and noticed Katie staring at him with a smile on her face. He smiled back at her before listening in on the story Matt was telling as Emma and Ollie fell asleep in his lap. Once they had been asleep for a while Punk carried them both up to their bedroom and put them to bed himself before joining the rest of the family downstairs again. A couple of hours later most of the family had already gone to bed. Matt and Arianna had stayed up the longest with Punk and Katie before finally retiring themselves and calling it a night. The fire was dwindling down and neither Punk nor Katie saw the need in feeing it, as they both knew they would retire soon as well.

Katie rose from her seat and sat on Punk's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I love you," she whispered to him, kissing him on the cheek. "You have no idea how happy I am right now."

"I think I may be happier. This whole weekend has been nothing short of incredible. From the moment I got here until now, it's just been..."

"You're gold with Emma and Ollie," Katie felt the need to say. "You're so good. So, _sooo_ good with them."

"I promised them they could come to Chicago sometime soon," Punk said as Katie readjusted her position on him so she was now straddling him. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Katie smiled mischievously. "Making you even happier than you are," she said, kissing him again. "Besides, nothing turns me on more than you being all cute with my niece and nephew."


	24. Chapter 24

Katie felt tears forming in her eyes as she shut the car door. The family had finished breakfast and it was time for Punk and Katie to leave; Matt had volunteered to drive them back to Toronto so they could go to the airport and fly to Philadelphia, the next city Raw was being held in. The rest of the family was leaving at night, so goodbyes were in order now for Katie and Punk. She hugged all of her brothers and tightly as tears streamed down her cheek. Punk thanked the wives for an amazing weekend before moving onto Emma and Ollie, who were patiently waiting for their turn to say goodbye to Punk.

"I'm gonna miss you guys," Punk said as he bent down on his knees.

"We're gonna come to Chicago soon," Ollie said, as if the plans were already established.

"Yes you will," Punk nodded his head. "In the meantime, remember you can call me whenever you guys want, okay?" He had already given him his number after breakfast, and the kids ran and told their parents excitedly. He extended his arms so he could hug them. "You guys be good."

"We will. I'll miss you Zio Phil," Emma said.

"I'll miss you more Zio Phil," Ollie said, and suddenly Punk realized that the kids he grew to adore in such a short period of time were already referring to him as their uncle. He kissed them both before rising to his feet so Katie could say her own goodbyes to them. He turned to her brothers and went to shake their hands, thanking them also for a wonderful weekend, but her brothers actually initiated the hugs he received. By this point, Punk wasn't exactly surprised by the hugs – in the short time they had grown closer and got to know each other much better. Her family had welcomed him with open arms and he was grateful to have spent such a weekend with such a close family.

"Alrighty, let's go or else you guys will be late for your flight," Matt said as he approached the car and opened the door to the driver's seat. "Let's hope there isn't any traffic."

The ride back into the city was long and grueling – they'd hit some traffic on the way down and were stuck in gridlock for almost half an hour before things started to pick up again. Once they finally arrived at the airport Matt quickly parked the car at the drop-off station before getting out and helping the couple with their bags.

"I'll miss you, even though you don't believe me," Matt said as he hugged his sister. "Call me when you get to Philly."

"I will, and I'll miss you too," she said as she hugged him back. She moved away from her brother so she could give Punk a chance to say goodbye to him.

The boys hugged each other and Punk patted Matt on his back. "Thanks for everything this weekend. It really means a lot that you guys would do this for me," he said.

"Take care of her," Matt said in a completely serious tone, and low enough so Katie couldn't hear. "I know you already have, but just...take care of her."

"I will," Punk said equally as quietly. "I promise." They let go of the embrace and Punk took Katie's suitcase for her. One more wave to Matt, who got back into the car, and they were off.

While the plane was taking off Katie looked out the window and saw the buildings become smaller and smaller, and as the plane got higher and higher she could no longer make out the individual streets, but only the highways; soon Lake Ontario was in view and the CN Tower was below her. Katie couldn't help but become emotional as she thought of everything that had transpired this past weekend and how she was leaving her beloved city again, only to be able to come back for a few days, at most, for Christmas. Tears escaped from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, and she tried to wipe them away quickly so that Punk wouldn't see, but she was too late. He was already attentive to her, taking off his headphones and looking at her worriedly.

"What's wrong?" he asked, though he already knew what was bothering her.

"I'm going to miss them so much," she managed to whisper between sobs, wiping away her tears. "I'm just being melodramatic," she huffed. "Don't worry about me."

"You're not being melodramatic," he told her as he grabbed her hand. "Get it all out. Cry for the entire ride if you have to. Although I'm sure if you did the flight attendants would probably have me arrested..." he rambled.

Katie chuckled at his feeble attempt at a joke and smiled slightly at him. "When I'm with my family I feel like I have all the support in the world. It's as if anything I do will make them proud. I feel so much love from them all the time and I always feel self conscious that I don't love them enough back, or that they don't think I love them as much, when the truth is I love them even more."

"Your family knows you love them, Katie," Punk told her as he squeezed her hand tighter. "Your brothers are sure of it, so are their wives. And look at Emma and Ollie – when you're in the room they listen to nobody but you. I've never experienced that much love in a family before. Ever. And I mean, Colt has a Jewish mother, and you know how that goes. Not even she loves her son as much as your family loves each other."

Katie laughed again and truly appreciated Punk's attempts at keeping her happy despite leaving home. She leaned in and kissed him before looking at him in the eyes. "Thank you," she whispered, kissing him again. "I love you."

Xxxxx

As Punk and Katie landed in Philadelphia, Punk made a quick call to Kofi, letting him know they were in on time. They got off the plane rather quickly and retrieved their luggage before waiting in line at customs. When they were finally cleared and on their way out, Punk noticed a familiar face in the crowd and smiled.

"What are you doing here?" he asked Kofi as he and Katie approached him with smiles on their faces.

"You really think I'd let you guys take a taxi back to the hotel?" Kofi said as he hugged Katie and Punk. "What kind of road wife would I be if I didn't come and pick you guys up?"

"You are the best road wife ever," Punk smiled as they began to walk towards the exit. "I promise I will never, ever divorce you."

"You can't, bitch. We didn't get a prenup," Kofi continued to joke, making Katie burst out into laughter.

"Didn't that Kanye West song teach you guys anything? If you ain't no punk, holla we want prenup!"

"You think I'm a punk?" asked Kofi, pretending anger.

"You think I listen to Kanye West?" Punk asked.

"You guys are crazy," Katie said. "Pop songs can teach you so many life lessons, you know," she continued sarcastically. "That song is a perfect example."

"I'm sure it is," Punk mused as they approached Kofi's rental car and he opened the door for Katie. "Teach me such words of wisdom, oh wise one."

The ride to the hotel was a lively one, with Katie and Punk telling Kofi of their weekend at the cottage with her family. Once they walked into the hotel, Punk and Katie checked in. Kofi helped Punk take Katie's bags up to their room as she went to visit AJ and some of the other divas she hadn't spoke to very much in the week she was gone.

As Kofi and Punk rode the elevator up to Punk's room, Kofi looked over at his friend. "You look happy," he commented.

Punk shrugged his shoulders. "Well I'm glad to be back, if that's what you mean," he said. "This weekend was relaxing as hell."

"No, I mean...you look _happy_, Phil," Kofi said, immediately turning the conversation into a serious one by the use of his first name. "In all the time I've known you I've never seen you this...genuinely _happy_ before."

Punk smiled shyly at this revelation from Kofi and scratched the back of his head. "What can I say?" he asked rhetorically. "I love her. What...what else is there to say?"

"To be honest, I can't believe she fell for you," Kofi smiled, earning a playful punch from Punk. "You know what I mean," Kofi defended himself. "Everything with you two has been so quick but it's not like anybody is telling you two to slow down. It's like you guys knew from the beginning that this is _it_, you know?" He looked at Punk's facial expression and couldn't read it, which scared him a little bit. He was always able to tell Punk's emotions, and this moment was out of the ordinary. "This _is_ it for you guys, isn't it?" he asked.

Punk seemed to struggle with his words. "I know it is for me," he told Kofi. "I don't know about her though."

Kofi shook his head. "You've gotta be kidding me," he chastised his best friend. "Are you stupid or something? Do you see the way that girl looks at you? It's the same way you look at her!"

"I don't want to get into this," Punk said. "We've only been dating a few months. Do you realize we haven't even known each other for a full year yet? There is no way I'm going to start talking about marriage or kids or any of that shit with her."

Kofi continued to shake his head as the elevator door opened and they both stepped out. "You're a fucking idiot. Just because all of your other relationships ended badly, it doesn't mean this one has to," he said. He slipped his keycard into the reader and opened the door, both men walking into the hotel room Kofi had. "If you guys are both into it what's holding you back?"

"She hasn't met my family yet. Or Colt for that matter. She's only talked to him over Skype," Punk tried to make up an excuse.

"Bullshit. Like any of that has ever stopped you before," Kofi called his bluff.

Punk had no option but to break down the wall he had up. "You don't get it," he began, again trying to find the right words for the situation. "She's a goddess to me. A _goddess_. There is no possible way she can look at me the same way I look at her because I look at her with all the love and adoration and passion in the whole fucking world. She's got this huge family that loves her and bows to her feet, and she could have been the biggest spoiled bitch in the world – but she's not. She's this humble, down-to-earth little Canadian girl with a work ethic most of the guys in this company don't even have. She's got even _more_ family that I didn't even meet this weekend that I still have to win over and impress – and this is the first time I've actually wanted to do that because I love this girl so God damn much that I care about the people that care about her. She's it for me Kofi, and that fucking scares me because one day, if I become an idiot and do something to hurt her she can be gone forever and then I'm gonna be living life alone. Alone is not an option after meeting someone like Katie. It's not," he rambled out everything that was going through his mind, shocking Kofi.

Kofi stood shocked at what had come out of Punk's mouth, and rubbed his jaw line nervously, thinking about everything he just said. "Well...fuck," was all he could manage to say. "You think she doesn't feel the same way about you? I mean, if she made you meet her family this early then she must think highly of you."

"I don't know anymore, Kofi...I just don't," Punk groaned. "The fact that for most of my adult life I've said that I don't believe in marriage and now I'm talking about it with you also says a lot about how she's changed me. I never think I could fall for someone like her so fast and so hard, or that she would fall for someone like me..."

"You're not that bad, you know. Give yourself some credit," Kofi said. "You may be the biggest asshole on the planet and tell it like it is all the time, but you'd give your shirt of your back for someone."

"That's the type of thing I wonder if she sees," Punk admitted.

Kofi rolled his eyes. "You really are an idiot if you think she doesn't see stuff like that. She's with you for a reason, and I'll give you a hint – it's not because you're a professional wrestler. She loves you because of who _Phil_ is, not who CM Punk is."

Punk sighed heavily, knowing that he was over-reacting at the situation. He also knew that Kofi was right. "You need to stop thinking that the relationship you have with Katie is going to turn out like every other relationship that you've had," Kofi said. "Katie's not like the other girls you've dated. She's different, and you know it. You need to stop over-reacting and stop being so insecure about your relationship. You guys love each other and that's all there is to it."

Punk inverted his lips before chuckling to himself and smiling slightly. "When did you and Colt get so good at giving relationship advice? Fuck, am I this good?"

Kofi smiled. "Not as good. You've got a lot of catching up to do. And I'll end it with this, which is probably the most useful advice I am going to give you," he said. "I don't care if you believe in marriage or not, or if you guys are going to have kids or not, or if you think she's too young, or she thinks she's too young, or her family thinks this, or your family thinks that...if you don't put a ring on that finger, I'll fucking kill you."

Xxxxx

So sorry for the lack of updates, yet again. Another busy couple of weeks for me. My last year of university started last week, and then I had a major loss in my family that took up a lot of my time, as I wanted to be there for my cousin...regardless, the chapter is now up! It was only really supposed to be a filler chapter, but then the ending took on a life of it's own :P

What do you think of the things Kofi and Punk talked about? What do you think Katie thinks about similar subjects? I think the next couple of chapters will be telling...you'll just have to wait and see! Please review and tell me what you think!


	25. Chapter 25

The next couple of months held mostly good things for Punk and Katie. Their relationship continued on the stable track, though sometimes they may not have seen each other as often as they would have liked. Katie had been given more opportunities by Stephanie McMahon to travel with various superstars, mainly John Cena, on promotional and media tours around the country. Though Katie was happy she was travelling with a good friend such as John, she still missed the comfort of having Punk by her side, especially during the nights. The blog she was running on the WWE website was as popular as ever, with fans begging to catch a glimpse of the talented photographer – something that Katie was totally shocked to see and unsure of what to do. It was flattering that so many fans wanted to know who she was, but at the same time, she wanted to keep her anonymity. In a bid to make fans happy, she posted a picture that AJ had took while fooling around with her camera during a Raw. Katie had an animated, unimpressed look on her face as she stood staring at Punk, who was pointing down at his belt around his waist. She posted the photo with the caption "Clearly I'm not believing whatever Punk is trying to sell me...". Excited by the positive response she received, she posted another photo of her with AJ and Eve, which the fans also got excited about. So many comments started rolling in, and it was a shock to Katie, who never thought anybody would want to see who she really was or what she looked like. It was weirdly cool to know that so many people admired her work – now the fans knew the face behind the photographs they loved so much.

Punk's 34th birthday also came and went, and though he didn't want much fanfare, Katie didn't listen. Though they were undoubtedly on the road, Katie woke him up in their hotel room with Colt Cabana waiting on Skype to sing him the most awful-sounding yet hilarious rendition of 'Happy Birthday' she had ever heard. For lunch she gathered all of his closest friends to a restaurant where they toasted to his birthday and nagged on him for getting old. Once lunch was finished and they walked aimlessly around the downtown core of San Fransisco, where they were, Katie surprised him with tickets to a concert that one of his favourite bands was putting on that night. As the punk music blared through the speakers, for the first time in his life, Punk was focused not on what was happening on stage, but instead on the girl wrapped protectively in his arms to shield her from the moshing fans. He was treated even more when they arrived back at the hotel – Katie had bought some new lingerie, and Punk was always up for some fun.

Punk's relationship with Katie's family also grew within this period, much to his happiness. He would Skype with her brothers every so often or talk to them on the phone when they would call Katie for checkups. True to his word, he talked to Emma and Ollie whenever they called him, which was often, and would discuss school, baseball, hockey and dolls with the kids before their parents took the phone away for bedtime. Punk would often have discussions with Daniel after conversations with Emma and Ollie about various subjects while Jessica put them to bed, and they tried to work out a time when they could come to Chicago. Punk didn't know when he would be there next long enough to host a family, but he'd let Daniel know as soon as he knew so they could start making plans. It was as if everything was falling together perfectly for Punk, and he could not be happier.

Gearing towards the end of November now, snow was on the ground in Newark, where Raw was being held. Though it was still a couple of hours until showtime, most of the superstars had already arrived at the arena and were hanging around backstage. Katie had arrived at the arena with AJ and Eve because Punk had to take care of some interviews back at the hotel. The girls talked and gossiped in the divas locker room while Katie cleared out her camera and made room for the photos that would be taken tonight. When they decided to go to catering for dinner, Katie brought her laptop and camera with her to do some extra work, if she could fit it in.

At catering she, AJ and Eve sat with John Cena and Dolph Zigger while they all ate dinner and talked amongst themselves. John kept cracking jokes at the expense of Dolph, much to his usually demeanor, and Dolph took it all in stride. Once Katie was done her meal she opened her laptop and returned to the blog, reading some of the comments that were posted under the pictures she had taken earlier in the day and some days before. She clicked to see the comments under the funny picture of her and Punk and noticed the usual 'BEST IN THE WORLD!' comments, but there were a few that caught her eye she hadn't expected to see.

_WWEUniverseLeader says: who wants 2 bet punk has already gotten this girl into bed!_

_PunkXgirl28 says: wat a slut!_

_IxAmxAxJericholic says: It's true – they're together. Read it on the dirt sheets. They were seen in San Fran together and at a punk show on his bday. Apparently he had his arms around her and they kissed a few times. A few ppl saw them._

_Steve0215 says: can't blame him. She's a fucking babe. How many WWE employees has this guy fucked now? Looks like he's moved on from ring rats tho..._

_DeliciousDiva says: Yet another one of Punk's conquests. Wonder how long this one is gonna last! _

Katie pursed her lips at the comments she was reading, not sure what to think. Why were these people so interested in their relationship? Should she and Punk have been more secretive about what was going on between them? Now that they had been ousted, what was next? The thing that really bothered her was the 'slut' comment. She didn't even know this person – and this person didn't even know her – yet she thought Katie was a 'slut' simply for dating Punk.

"Are you alright?" she heard John ask suddenly, snapping her out of her trance. "You've been staring at the computer screen for a while. You haven't blinked in like five minutes."

"Yeah...I'm good," Katie answered absent-mindedly. She typed in the address of a popular wrestling news website and searched for her name to see if anything came up. She found that most posts were related to the WWE blog, but, of course, one wasn't.

_Backstage News on CM Punk; Why He Wasn't At Hamilton and London House Shows_

_Reports are coming in that the reason why WWE Champion CM Punk was not at a slew of house shows in London and Hamilton, Ontario after a Toronto edition of Raw is because he stayed in Toronto. Multiple sources have confirmed that CM Punk is dating WWE employee Katie Cadenza, who runs the popular blog. Punk is rumoured to have stayed back in Toronto to meet Katie's family, as she is from the city._

_Multiple photographs and tweets have also been rolling in about fans seeing CM Punk and Ms. Cadenza together during various outings. Fans have also spotted Ms. Cadenza getting into CM Punk's bus after shows. Tweets and photographs were rolling in on CM Punk's birthday, when multiple fans saw them in intimate positions at a local punk show._

A couple of pictures were posted after the article. One was a shot from behind, during one of the dinners out that John would always invite everyone to. Punk had his arm draped around Katie's shoulders and was leaning into her, whispering something in her ear. The second picture was from their walk in San Francisco after his birthday lunch; they were holding hands in line at an ice cream shop. The third was blurry but from the punk show, and he had his arms wrapped around Katie protectively. It could have been any other couple except for the fact that Punk was wearing his Cubs hat, which gave away his identity. The last photo was taken from the blog, the picture she posted of her, AJ and Eve together. She scrolled down the page and saw some of the comments posted by members of the site

_EvenSteven4458 says: this girl is hot. _

_BabeOfTheYear1991 says: luv how this girl thinks the divas and superstars r her friends just cuz she takes pics of them. They prob think she's so desperate, cuz she is!_

_MissQueen says: LOL, so plain. Standing next to Eve and AJ makes her look so ugly! Plus I bet she is only with him for his money! I've heard he's an asshole in real life, so why else would she be with him?_

_PunkXgirl28: inside scoop says she's been dating Punk for months. Wonder how long it's gonna last since he's always a 'wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am' type of guy – never EVER does relationships. Heard she's pretty conceited too. Makes u wonder wat punk saw in her..._

_NextWWEDiva says: Punk probably isn't her first *ahem* relationship either. Heard she's been making the rounds 4 a while. Cena's already had a piece (like he always does), same with Dolph, and even Randy even tho he's got Sam and Alannah at home. Makes u wonder how desperate and low this girl is, to fuck a married man like she did. _

_Craig_WWE_Fan says: You guys are so immature. Get a life u stupid 12 yr olds. Who cares if they r together? As long as he is still the champ and she is giving us good photos, I don't give a fuck if they r fucking or not. Since when did WWE fans become gossipers? If you're not on this site to talk about ACTUAL WRESTLING, then GTFO!_

Katie quickly made up an excuse to her friends to leave the catering area, and she stormed off down the hallway, away from all the superstars. Was she just a conquest? Was Punk going to move on from her soon and fuck the next ring-rat he laid eyes on? Definitely not, because their relationship was solid and she knew Punk was not that person anymore. He had always been extremely honest of his past to her and the things he had done in his early days, and even though she knew all these things, she accepted him with open arms. What bothered her more was that people thought she was some sort of 'slut' just because she was dating a superstar. What bothered her even more was that she was thought of as a gold digger, which was the farthest thing from the truth. She actually encouraged Punk not to spend his money frivolously – not that he needed much convincing; he was very good with his money – and had been saving her own paycheques from the WWE to pay down her debt she had accumulated from studying abroad in London for her photography course. Katie didn't come from money by any means, especially after her mother left and her dad was supporting the entire family with a single income. Whatever money she ever had to spend she earned on her own, working tirelessly at mundane jobs to pay her own tuition, textbooks, and anything else she needed. Nobody could ever lecture her on working hard or making her own money, and she prided herself in that. She was upset that these people, whoever they were, thought of her in such a way.

Xxxxx

A couple of days later Katie travelled with Punk to a Wizard World event, which saw him do an autograph signing and a coveted question and answer period with the fans. The day was going great, with Punk meeting his fans for two hours before taking a short break before the question and answer period, which was bound to go over the time limit, as it usually did. Katie manoeuvred herself all over the place, taking pictures of the fans in line, sitting in their seats, and Punk onstage answering questions or laughing at some of them. She stood mostly off to the side as more people lined up to ask him a question.

As Punk took a drink from his bottle of water the next fan in the long line approached the microphone, wearing a CM Punk t-shirt. He had to be in his mid-twenties but had the attitude of a 12 year old boy. "Hey Punk, I'm a big fan..." he began, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. "I was just wondering how the relationship with Beth Phoenix is going."

Many people shifted uncomfortably in their seats, including Punk. Katie stood completely still, letting her camera lower at the pure shock that this guy had the audacity to ask Punk such a thing when all the other questions asked were obviously geared towards wrestling.

Punk scratched the top of his head before regaining his composure and looking the man straight in the eye. "So that's what the dirt sheets are saying about me these days? Man, and they're saying our product is getting lackluster. If they can't come up with better stories they're going to become obsolete," he said, garnering a slew of claps from some fans. "That's the stuff you choose to read about me? That's weird. Why does a man want to know about my personal life?" he continued, not wanting to completely embarrass the man (or else he'd hear from Stephanie or Paul tomorrow), but at least let him know that what he did was wrong. "To answer your question, the relationship between Beth and I is non-existent. I'm not dating any of the talent," he said firmly, taking a quick look over at Katie. He hesitated for a second – most of the fans were satisfied with the answer, but he knew he wasn't telling the truth. Hell, half of them probably knew he wasn't telling the truth. "Actually..." he got everybody's attention again. "I'm lying. I am dating talent. But it's not the talent that you think. See that girl over there?" he asked, pointing in Katie's direction. All heads turned to her and she blushed suddenly, feeling on the spot. "That's Katie. She's the photographer for that blog on the WWE website you guys are eating up. She's my girl. She may not be on TV but I still consider her one of the best talents in the business."

Suddenly the entire room erupted in applause and cheer for Katie, who let her camera fall around her neck before burying her face in her hands. She heard Punk cheering into the microphone as well before she garnered up the courage to wave at the fans before picking up her camera again.

"No more questions about my personal life, please. I've already revealed too much," Punk said, which made everybody laugh.

As the question and answer period came to a close a couple of hours later, Katie waited for Punk as he thanked the staff for their work. Her phone buzzed in her pocket.

_Did Phil say something today?_ It was a text from John Cena. He had included a picture, which was a screenshot from his phone of a post from Twitter. It was a picture of her from earlier in the day, when Punk had ousted her as his girlfriend, waving to the crowd, with the tweet "CM Punk's girlfriend. JohnCena, didn't u have her before Punk did?"

A sickening feeling took over Katie's stomach as she read the tweet over and over again. She didn't know how to respond in a situation like this – it had never happened to her before because it was the farthest thing from the truth. Just as she was about to text John back to explain to him, he sent another screenshot from his phone of another tweet: "Punk just said that Katie photographer chick is his girlfriend. JohnCena, how many men does that make for her? Can u confirm?"

"Is everything okay?" Katie suddenly heard Punk's voice. She looked up and saw him standing in front of her, his backpack draped across his chest and his hands in his pockets.

"Why wouldn't it be?" she asked rhetorically, shoving her phone back into her pocket and grabbing Punk's arm. She didn't want to say anything. She didn't want Punk to worry about something so small and insignificant when he had better things to worry about than what random people were saying on the internet. Not when it was something so small that it would probably blow over quicker than the flash on her camera.

But maybe the blow would be more than she bargained for.

Xxxxx

I know, I know. I am horrible because I haven't updated in so long...but here it is. As a heads up, Colt Cabana will be appearing in a few chapters soon, and he's going to be playing the usual comedic role...however his role will also be VERY important!


	26. Chapter 26

Katie had been lying in Punk's bed on his tour bus for about ten minutes, falling in and out of sleep before finally deciding to get up and out of bed. It was Monday, which meant another Raw, just a few days after Katie had found all the comments about her on the internet. To say she didn't really care for them wasn't really true. No matter how hard she tried not to care, she couldn't help but keep thinking about them in the back of her mind. It didn't help, either, that she had accidentally blurted out her feelings to AJ, who then told John, who decided to talk to her about it. It was as if everyone around her who was close to her knew...except for her own boyfriend. She didn't want to bore him with her troubles. She knew the comments weren't a big deal, but even she could admit she wasn't acting the same since she saw them, and she had a feeling Punk was catching on.

She tied her hair up into a messy bun and opened the sliding door, walking through the cramped bus to the front where Punk was laying down on the couch and Kofi was eating some breakfast. She soon realized that Punk was Skyping with Colt Cabana, so she kneeled down to screen level so she could wave and say hi to him. She still hadn't met Colt face-to-face but had talked to him numerous times over Skype – they were already friends, though they had yet to actually meet in person.

"He's got a surprise for us. He didn't want to tell me until you were awake," Punk said, looking between the computer screen and his girlfriend. "What is it you have to tell us? Did you finally put on a new pair of underwear?"

"HEY!" Colt objected as he watched Katie laugh in the background. "Says the guy who lives out of a suitcase and on a bus!"

"Yet this bus is still cleaner than your apartment..." Punk mused.

"_Anyways_," Colt moved on. He cleared his throat dramatically. "I, Scott 'Colt Cabana' Colton, have accumulated enough money to visit you folks the week you are in Miami!"

Punk's mouth gaped open and Katie began to clap excitedly with a giant smile on your face. "I finally get to meet you!" she yelled.

"Dammit Colt! You know exactly how to brighten my whole god damn week!" Punk smiled, clearly excited that he was going to finally see his best friend after a long absence. "I'm supposed to be a grumpy asshole, remember? People can't see me happy!"

"Cry me a river," Colt said. "I'll make you smile so much you'll get premature wrinkles." Punk flashed him the finger before Colt turned his attention to Katie. "Are you excited, doll?" he asked.

"Super excited. I can't wait for all the shenanigans we're going to get into," she smiled. "There's only one rule: no fucking with my camera."

"But I'm so good looking!"

"You'll break the lens! They aren't cheap you know!"

"Fine. I'll adhere to that rule. I guess I should give my one rule too. No leaking videos of me drunk on the internet. I have a serious image to uphold, you know."

"But I'll make so much money!"

"My mother will kill me!"

Punk tilted his head back and laughed at the banter between his best friend and girlfriend. Never in a million years did he think he would find a girl who could keep up with Colt and who would have the same sense of humour as they did. He guessed having four older brothers helped her with understanding male humour, but she was so at ease with it, it almost shocked him.

"Anyways, I'm gonna go get ready. You two have fun catching up on all your gossip," Katie announced as she said goodbye to Colt. She stood up and ruffled Punk's hair affectionately before retreating to the bedroom again.

Xxxxx

A couple of hours later Punk's bus finally arrived at the hotel where all the superstars were staying. He and Kofi Kingston got off the bus first and signed some autographs for the fans waiting. Katie had managed to make up an excuse to stay inside the bus longer, so that nobody saw her emerging from the bus. She didn't want any more tweets or pictures being snapped of her getting off of Punk's bus, and rumours flying around that she was now having threesomes with him and Kofi. When the driver drove the bus around to the back of the hotel, she finally got off and walked into the hotel, meeting Punk and Kofi in the lobby. Kofi had gotten his key card early, so he said bye to the two before going up to his room for a nap before the show. She looked around her to see if any fans were watching, and in that time she felt Punk grab her hand and intertwine his fingers with hers.

He noticed she kept shifting her eyes and moving her head to look around. "Are you okay?" he asked as they were waiting for the receptionist to activate their key cards.

"Yeah, I'm good," Katie said unconvincingly, still feeling as if people were watching her. She hated this feeling – this feeling of hesitance, especially around her boyfriend.

"Are you looking for someone or something?" he asked, still not convinced that nothing was wrong with her. "I'm sure AJ's already in her room. Text her and see if she's here." When she just nodded her head and kept looking around, he started to become a bit frustrated. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked again. "You've been acting a bit weird lately," he admitted. "I'm starting to think something's up with you, and I don't like it."

As Katie was about to respond, a man walking through the lobby screamed "BEST IN THE WORLD!" and threw his arms up in the air. Katie immediately snapped her whole body away from Punk, including the hand that he was holding so firmly. Punk looked in the direction of the man who yelled and gave him a thumbs up before the man walked out of the hotel, completely harmless. Punk looked back at Katie and noticed that he wasn't holding on to her hand anymore because she had pulled away so violently. He looked at her in astonishment, but of course she didn't see it – she was still too busy looking at her surroundings.

"Here is your key card, Mr. Brooks," the overly-chirpy receptionist said. "To your left are the elevators. Have a great stay."

Punk thanked the receptionist and without another word to Katie he began walking away with his luggage, upset she had done such a thing. Something was obviously bothering her, and the fact that she wasn't telling him made him angry. They weren't supposed to keep things from each other.

They rode up the elevator in silence, Katie looking at Punk the entire time, trying to get him to look at her, but to no avail. He kept his head down and avoided eye contact with her until he got his emotions in check and didn't yell at her. When they finally got to their room and set their luggage down on the floor, Punk turned to her and put his hands on his hips. "What was that back there?" he asked calmly.

"What was what?" she asked, pretending to be oblivious, though she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Don't play that game with me," he said, more harsh than he intended. "Why did you pull away from me like that?"

"The guy's outburst just scared me, that's all," she tried to play it off. "It was a natural, human reaction to when someone screams something so loud, so unexpectedly."

"I _said_ don't play that game with me," he said harshly again, not believing her for a second. "Do you not want to be seen in public with me or something?" he asked.

"Oh, give me a break," Katie rolled her eyes, not wanting to get into this.

She bent down and to open her suitcase but Punk immediately walked up to her and pulled her back up. "No, we are going to talk about this," he demanded. "What's been up with you lately? And don't you dare say nothing, or else you'll be insulting my intelligence."

Katie tried to find the right words so she wouldn't offend him, but she knew no matter what she said, he would be offended anyway. "I just...I didn't really appreciate you outing me as your girlfriend at the press conference. I'd rather be known as a photographer to the fans, not as your girlfriend."

"That's what this is about?" he asked.

"It just bothered me, okay? Now people are going to be all over me. People are leaving crude comments on the blog now and dirt sheets are writing up stories about me. It's a lot to take in," she admitted.

"You're worried about what little twelve year olds are saying on the internet?" Punk asked rhetorically, not believing that his girlfriend would let something so insignificant get to her. "Katie, there's a reason people call them internet trolls."

"You don't _get it_," she almost snapped at him. "They're not just saying stupid shit that I can laugh off. They're calling me a _slut_. They're saying I'm your latest _conquest_ and that you'll move on to the next hot ring-rat you see. They're saying I slept my way to this position by fucking Randy, who's married and has a kid. Half of them think I've already fucked Cena, and that they keep me around to make him '_happy'_. He showed me tweets from fans asking him to 'confirm my numbers' and asking whether or not -"

"Wait wait wait, Cena sent you texts about this?" Punk asked, now absolutely livid, though he didn't show it.

"Just a couple, but that's beyond the point," Katie said. "I don't want people thinking I slept my way into this position. I want them to appreciate the photography, like they were doing before they found out I was dating you. I'm not saying I don't want to be seen in public with you. I just want our relationship to be about _us_. I don't want them intervening and writing stories about it. I just...I just don't want things to get out of control."

Punk sighed heavily, rubbing his eyes. "You can't listen to what they're saying, Katie. It was bound to get out eventually. We just have to make the best of it."

"I know. I just never imagined it would get this type of reaction," she said.

"Do you think you're a slut?" he asked.

"Excuse me?" Katie asked, not knowing where he was going with this.

"Do you think you're a slut?" he repeated.

"Of course not," she responded.

"Do you think that I love you?" he asked again.

"I know that you love me."

"So if someone, even someone as close to you as AJ, or fuck, even Ziggler for that matter, came up to you and said, 'I don't think Phil is in love with you', would you believe them?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I know they'd be wrong, and I know in my heart of hearts that you love me."

"Why does it matter then? If you know in the bottom of your heart that what these people are saying is untrue and complete bullshit, why do you let it affect you?" Punk asked, making his point clear to Katie. "You know that you're not a slut, and you know that you worked your ass off to get this job without anyone's help, so what does it matter what people say about you when you know and you're confident in the truth?"

When she realized his point and couldn't answer him, she let a sob escape her that she was bottling up inside. "I'm sorry," she said, tears streaming down her face as she sat down on the edge of the bed, unable to stand anymore. Punk kneeled down in front of her and began wiping the tears with his thumbs. "I just didn't know how to react and -"

"Shhhh, it's okay," Punk said, kissing her quickly before wiping some more tears. "I love you, and nothing or no-one can persuade me otherwise. I know this is new for you and I'm here to help you. But you need to learn that people are going to say things, hurtful things. They're going to want to tear you apart. You need to develop a thick skin or else they'll eat you alive."

Katie kissed him again and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close to her. He kissed her neck a few times before picking her up from the bed and standing up. "You should take a nap so you're energized for tonight," he said, laying her down on the bed and lying down next to her. "Try not to think about it. I don't want you upset over this. I want you to feel like you can do whatever you want without having to be scared that someone is going to write a story about it," he said, wiping some more tears away as they faced each other in bed.

"I love you, Phil," she whispered as she closed her eyes softly. Within minutes her breathing began to soften, and Punk knew she was asleep.

He moved slowly off the bed and put on his shoes. He remembered to take a key card with him as he left the room, taking one more look at Katie curled up on the bed before closing the door and making his way towards the end of the hallway. Suites were always at the end of the hallway, and the top superstar of the company always got a suite.

"How was the ride in?" Cena asked once he opened the door and saw Punk on the other side.

"I need you to back off," Punk said immediately, not wanting to beat around the bush.

Cena looked taken aback by his statement. "What do you mean?"

"I don't need you sending _my girlfriend_ tweets and texts about what idiots are saying about her on the internet. I've got her crying in our hotel room because of it," Punk said sternly. "What you did was completely uncalled for."

"Whoa whoa, I didn't mean for it to happen. I was just as shocked as she was -"

"This isn't about _you_!" Punk yelled at one of his best friends, his temper getting the best of him. "You're sending her texts about people calling her a slut, asking you if she's slept with you, to 'confirm her numbers'?! Do you really think that's appropriate?!"

"I -"

"You _know_ how she is with that sort of stuff, John, especially with her past and everything that's happened with her mother," Punk chastised him. "Why would you even show it to her? Do you really think she'd take to it lightly?"

"I didn't mean to make her upset," John finally got a word in.

"Well, you've made her upset. So much so that now she's scared to even be seen in _public_ with me." Punk inhaled deeply, trying to get his anger in check. "I just...just back off, okay? She doesn't need this."

Punk made his way back to the door, opening it, ready to leave. "I'm sorry," John said. Punk knew he meant it, but he was still upset.

"It's a little too late for that," he said, looking at John over his shoulder. He closed the door behind him, leaving John standing in his hotel suite, trying to pick up some of the pieces of the mess.


	27. Chapter 27

"FETCH MY BAG, PEASANT!"

The undeniable charisma of Colt Cabana had officially landed in Miami. That undeniable charisma also led to a punch from his best friend, who, despite the comment, was grinning from ear to ear. They embraced, having not seen each other for longer than they had wanted, and laughed at each other – they were finally reunited.

Katie stood off to the side, letting the best friends reacquaint themselves before introducing herself. She knew Punk and Colt had a lot of catching up to do, so after she drove them back to the hotel, she planned a shopping date with AJ so Punk and Colt could be alone. It was a Thursday, so she knew with Friday and Saturday around the corner and Colt in town, there were bound to be some epic adventures. She wanted to give Punk and Colt their alone time before everybody else started demanding his time – he was friends with a lot of other superstars, too.

"How was the flight in?" Punk asked as they let go from their hug.

"I sat beside this old lady who kept telling me I reminded her of her nephew. It was really creepy," Colt said, shaking his head. "She smelled like your fridge when all your organic shit goes bad."

"Well isn't that lovely."

Colt looked beyond Punk and noticed the small women standing away from them with a smile on her face. He, of course, recognized her from the numerous Skype sessions they'd had, but seeing her in person was totally different than seeing her on a computer screen. "Katie!" he yelled, feeling no need for introductions.

A cheeky grin spread across her face as Colt opened his arms wide to hug her as she approached them. "Good to see you, Colt," she said as she hugged him, her body tiny in comparison to his. "I hope that sweet old lady didn't join the Mile High Club with you," she said, immediately starting with the jokes.

Colt held Katie by her shoulders and looked at her, then at Punk, then back at her, then back at Punk. "Not even thirty seconds into formally meeting your girl and she's already going with the insults," he said to Punk, causing him to laugh. "I don't know where you find your women, man."

"She grew up with four older brothers. She isn't scared of us," Punk commented as he grabbed a hold of the handle of Colt's suitcase.

"Good," Colt said, looking back at Katie and releasing her from his hold. "I can't tell you how fucking annoyed I am when I have to hold my potty mouth in front of women. Good to know you're gonna be able to handle us," he said, nodding his head back at Punk.

"Why don't you boys wait at the kiss and ride while I go pick up the rental car," Katie offered as she fetched her keys from her purse.

"No, it's okay Ka -" Punk began.

"Really, it's okay," Katie waved him off. "Do some of your bro-talking and catching up and meet me outside. I'm going shopping with AJ once we get back anyway so you guys can catch up. We'll do something later tonight."

"Scratch that – I ask again, where the hell do you find your women? Because I want to know," Colt commented, causing the couple to smile. Punk gave her a quick kiss before she was off walking through the terminal to the parking garage to get the car.

Colt turned to his best friend and watched Punk as he watched Katie walk down the terminal. Once she was out of eyesight, Colt crossed his arms. "You know, I should fucking punch you right now."

Punk looked at his best friend, exasperated. "What did I do now?"

"Where the hell is her ring?!"

Xxxxx

Katie and AJ came back with way too many bags from their shopping trip – so many, in fact, that they could barely handle them all. Katie tried to make the excuse that she hadn't been shopping in _months_, and she really needed the sweaters, and cardigans, and jeans, and that really cute dress, and those really cute and practical ballet flats, and those cute cocktail rings...who was she kidding – she had indulged herself. She would never hear the end of it from Punk. At least she could say AJ had done the same thing – she had as many bags as Katie did. They fed off each other. How was this all going to fit in their suitcase?

As Katie struggled with balancing the key card in her hand and all the bags she had, she found a way to slip the key card in its slot and open the door. As she and AJ walked in she saw Punk standing near the desk sipping on his smoothie and Cabana sitting on the bed, laughing. They both had amused looks on their faces at the amount of bags the girls were carrying.

"What the hell is this?" Punk asked.

"We went shopping," AJ pointed out the obvious, throwing her bags onto the bed.

"I can see that."

"It's not what it looks like. Everything in these bags, we totally need," Katie tried to defend herself and AJ as she threw her own bags onto the bed Colt was sitting on.

"I highly doubt you need another pair of shoes..." Punk said as he noticed not one, but two shoe boxes in one bag. "Your shoes are taking over. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that."

"Dude, if she has to put up with your smell post-matches, then you better build her a whole damn shoe closet," Colt imputed his two cents.

"SEE! Colt's on my side!" Katie pointed at him and smiled.

"These clothes better be put to good use," Punk commented.

"You tearing your girlfriend's clothes off is not good use," Colt commented again, earning a slap across the head from AJ.

"If I may continue..." Punk bowed down to head level with Colt, who was now rubbing his head. "Better put these clothes to good use _tonight_. We've made dinner reservations for seven and everyone is coming to see Colt."

"Hooray! Food!" AJ exclaimed, clapping her hands. "I need food in my belly after that marathon we did at the mall," she patted her stomach comically.

"And I warn you now," Colt announced. "Tomorrow night, we're all going clubbing. I don't care what you say."

"But I don't dance," Punk said.

"Neither do I," Katie said.

"Neither do I," AJ said.

"FUCK all you guys!" Colt screamed at them, pretending to be angry. "I'm in Miami God damn it! I've been working too hard these past few weeks, I need a break!"

"You work?" Katie asked with a smirk on her face.

Colt looked at her with wide eyes, muttering "Why you little..." under his breath before lunging at her, picking her up and draping her over his shoulder. She screamed at the sudden predicament she found herself in, AJ and Punk laughing as Colt paraded her across the room.

"Phil make him stop!" she demanded as Colt pretended to drape her further over his shoulder and drop her a few times. She screamed every time.

"Hey, you asked for it when you made that comment," Punk smiled as he continued to watch his best friend and girlfriend.

Before things could get too crazy, Colt let Katie down. "Next time I won't be as nice," he warned her.

"I've learned my lesson," Katie huffed, pulling back her hair that had fallen all over her face. "AJ and I should go get ready," she said, picking up all her shopping bags again. "We'll meet you guys in the lobby for 6:30, yeah?"

Colt and Punk nodded their heads and opened the door for the girls, whose hands were full of bags, and watched as they made their way to the elevators.

Xxxxx

As usual, the girls were bordering on being late. Punk allotted a five minute grace period – if somebody was late by five minutes, he didn't really mind; he understood that things came up. But if was more than five minutes, he began to get angry. Even six minutes late got on her nerves. They had places to go, things to talk about – they shouldn't be wasting time waiting in the hotel lobby.

All the girls were getting ready together, so it was really no wonder they were late. Katie, AJ, Eve and Natalya had all gathered in Eve's hotel room to get ready and were probably still working on their hair, or their makeup, or their nails, or something else insignificant that nobody would really notice.

"Can somebody call them?" Punk asked to no-one in particular as he, Colt, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, the Miz, Tyson Kidd, Zack Ryder and John Cena waited in the lobby.

"Calm down, they're getting pretty for us," Zack said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. "It'll be worth the wait."

"Yeah, like they're getting pretty for you, when Katie has me, Eve has Renner and Natalya has TJ," Punk teased his friend, deflating his ego. "Don't look so glum, champ. I bet there will be hot waitresses at the bar who will love your frosted tips."

As Zack looked up at Punk, his eyes went wide. "Not as hot as your girlfriend," he smirked, nodding his head to motion for Punk to look behind him.

Punk spun around and saw the big deal behind him. The ladies had arrived, and each of them looked stunning. Eve was leading the pack and was wearing a peach coloured body-con dress that showed off her tanned skin. Nattie was wearing a maxi-dress that had a plunging neckline – clearly TJ liked what he saw. Then there was AJ – the geek that she was – who was wearing a simple black dress that she accentuated with quirky accessories and curly hair. Walking beside her was Katie in all her glory, wearing a plum coloured lace dress that hugged her curves in all the right places, and a pair of platform heels she probably bought that afternoon. She had also curled her hair and put on a little more makeup than usual, but Punk was loving it. He was pretty sure his jaw hit the floor when he saw her. She never usually dressed this way, so to see her in such a sexy get-up was a rewarding experience.

She walked over to him and he could tell she felt self-conscious. She was looking around at all the guys gawking at them, and crossed her arms over her chest. "Eve talked me out of wearing a black dress," she whispered. "She was like, 'It's Miami! You can't wear black in Miami!' Is it too much? What kind of a restaurant is it anyway? You guys weren't very informative," she rambled.

"You look..." Punk tried to find the words.

"Stop eye-fucking your girlfriend. Let's make our way to the cabs, shall we?" Colt interjected with a shit eating grin on his face. "You look like every man's dream, Katie."

"Thanks, Colt," she blushed as she felt Punk's arm snake across her back. Colt walked away, joining his other friends, and Katie turned back to her boyfriend. "Eve said purple looks good on me. What do you think?"

"I think I'm gonna have to drape you in Cena's sports jacket so other men don't drool over my girlfriend," Punk said, causing Katie to blush even more. "Seriously, Katie...how can you be self conscious about this?"

"I'm out of my element," she admitted. "The Divas know how to be vixens and these sexy, powerful women on television, and I'm just Katie, the little photographer from Toronto."

"The Divas got nothing on you," Punk said, leaning down and passionately kissing her. "Fuck Katie, I don't know if I'm going to last tonight," he admitted. "I don't want to be crude but as good as that dress looks on you, I want it off of you in less than half an hour."

Katie chuckled to herself before a loud voice was heard from the doors of the lobby. "Phillip! Get your ass moving!" the voice of Colt rang out.

True enough to his word, Punk couldn't keep his hands off Katie. It started with his hand on her thigh for the length of the cab ride– sometimes going so high Katie needed to push it further down – and it never seemed to leave her thigh unless they were walking. He almost ripped the dress when taking it off her when they were back at the hotel; something Katie playfully chastised him for, because she had just bought it.

Xxxxx

Please don't hate me for not updating in so long. University has taken over my life. Also, October is always a busy month for me because of Canadian Thanksgiving, my mom's birthday, and my best friend's birthday all on consecutive weekends. I will hopefully be posting more come November, and I have no exams this semester, so December I will be in full throttle!

In a way this was a bit of a filler chapter...I wanted to put some humour in here between Colt and Katie, but next chapter, something big is going to happen...and it might not be what you're thinking! Stay tuned!


	28. Chapter 28

Standing in a mall, outside a particular store, this was not a moment to be CM Punk and Colt Cabana. This was a moment to be Phillip Brooks and Scott Colton – no ring name, no persona, no WWE Championship or Art of Wrestling podcast could interfere in this intense, real-life moment. Scott looked at Phil, who looked at Scott. They both looked above them at the store name; both returned to looking at each other at the same time.

Scott was the first to speak. "Holy fuck."

Phil took a deep breath in, not responding. They continued to stand outside the store, looking up at the sign in awe, as mall-goers walked by them, hurrying to get their own errands done. Phil felt as if he should announce what he was doing to everyone in the mall. It was the only way he could think of to let off steam.

Scott continued to look at his best friend. "Are we going in?" he asked timidly.

Phil nodded his head once, definitively. They approached the large, glass doors and opened them with ease. They were greeted immediately by a woman dressed in a nice black pantsuit, holding a clipboard and a pen, eager to greet them. "Hello, welcome to Tiffany's!"

"Hi," Scott smiled at her, knowing that if Phil were to say anything at this moment he'd freak out. "Where are your engagement rings?"

The woman's eyes lit up. "Our rings are in the centre of the store," she pointed in the direction. "Feel free to ask any consultant for help if need be."

Phil and Scott made their way to the counter, looking at all the rings underneath the glass. As Scott began to pick some out, Phil would shoot down each one. He knew they would not suit Katie. Phil would deny a ring for being 'too gaudy' or 'too big' or 'not good enough'. The two men continued to browse, Phil with the most serious face Scott had ever seen. Phil had never concentrated this much on something before – not on a match, on a baseball game, nothing. It was somewhat scary yet intriguing to see.

"This is it," Phil said suddenly, much to the surprise of Scott. Scott wandered over to the part of glass that Phil was looking down at and saw the ring he was pointing at. It looked beautiful, and he had absolutely no idea how to describe it other than that it was _really_ sparkly, but he could see the fire in Phil's eyes. "Get someone, quick," Phil said hastily. "This is it, man. This is it."

Scott immediately waved down a woman who approached them quickly behind the desk. "Can I help you?" she asked. Scott noticed a hint of attitude in her voice as she looked at the two men.

"I want to buy this ring," Phil said, pointing down to it. "This ring. Right now."

"This ring?" she asked, retrieving it from its place underneath the glass and holding it up. "This is the Tiffany Novo," she said. "This is a two-carat cushion cut diamond with diamonds also in the band."

"Ring it up," Phil said immediately. "That's it."

Scott noticed the woman eyeing him and Phil – in particular, Phil. She looked him up and down, paying particular attention to the visible tattoos she saw on him. "Sir, this ring is an internally flawless diamond that is two carats, the diamonds in the band adding even more weight. This retails for over fifty thousand dollars."

Phil and Scott both knew her tone. They had heard it countless times before. She wasn't simply pointing out how great and expensive the ring was – she was implying that there was no way in hell Phil could afford such a thing.

Before Phil could go off on her, Scott intervened. "I think you should call your manager," he suggested. He nodded his head towards Phil, "My best friend here earns more money in a day than your commission in all your years working here. He's buying this ring today."

The woman walked away impatiently and soon enough, Scott and Phil were being led to a consultation room in the back of the store to go over the purchase. Soon, it was all over, and Phil was now the proud owner of a $55,000, two and a half carat Tiffany Novo engagement ring.

"Never...never in a million years did I ever think you, of all the people I know, would be getting married," Scott commented as they continued to walk around the mall. "Have you thought about how you're going to do it? I can't believe I'm asking this – I sound like such a chick – but I want to know."

"In a couple of months, a bunch of superstars are going over to Russia for some overseas shows. Nobody really knows yet except for Cena and I. Anyways...I was planning...I don't know, maybe somewhere like the Hermitage Museum or the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. Russian history is her thing...that's what she got her Master's in, and everything she learned is basically centered in St. Petersburg so..."

"She is going to flip the _fuck_ out," Scott commented. "When did you become so romantic and creative? I would expect you to have done it in your pajamas after a shower or something."

This garnered a punch from Phil, who laughed at the comment. "I need your help though," he began again. "Like I said, we're going in a couple of months. I can't carry this thing around with me everywhere. You need to keep it until the time is right."

"You want me to babysit this fucking thing?" Scott asked, exasperated. "This thing costs more than my apartment and life insurance policy put together."

"I can't risk her finding it. It's bound to happen since we always travel together. Plus I still need to sneak my way back to Toronto to ask her dad and brothers -"

"WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT," Scott stopped dead in his tracks. "You're telling me Phillip Brooks is asking a father permission to marry his daughter...like normal people do?! WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BEST FRIEND?!" he began to violently shake Phil.

Phil laughed at his best friend. "This is what happens when you meet a woman!"

Xxxxx

CM Punk emerged from the van cab first, sliding open the door for the others to get out. Colt emerged, still wearing his sunglasses, much to Punk's dismay. He helped Natalya out, then Katie, then AJ, and Tyson and Dolph Ziggler followed suit from the back. Another van behind them spilled out Kofi Kingson, John Cena, Eve, Renner, Zack Ryder, the Miz, and Maryse, who had literally just flown in from Los Angeles. The group convened on the sidewalk before bypassing security and making their way inside the club. They were immediately led to their private booth.

Punk had a grip on Katie's waist the entire time, wanting everybody to know that the hottest girl in the room was with him. She was wearing another one of her Miami purchases, a royal blue body-con dress with black heels and her hair curled. He wished her recent streak of dresses would never end, but he knew she felt more comfortable in Chucks and jeans. After John had announced that the tab was on him tonight, everybody freaked out and immediately went to the bar. Katie stayed behind with Punk, sitting close to him on one of the couches, his hand on her thigh. It was as if it had never left from yesterday.

"Aren't you coming?" Eve asked before she walked down the stairs. "We can't do this without you!"

Katie blushed. "I don't dance," Katie admitted. "Unless I have alcohol in my system."

"Well, looks like we're putting alcohol in your system, then," Eve smiled as she grabbed Katie's hand. "You don't mind, right?" she asked Punk.

"Of course I don't! I told her today at least nine times that she has free range to drink however much she wants!" Katie shot him a sympathetic look, knowing he would be the only one not drinking tonight, but he waved it off. "Go have fun, Katie. God knows you deserve it!"

Katie smiled at him before kissing him quickly and following Eve and Renner towards the bar. Within minutes she had an Amaretto Sour in her hand and was enjoying it with Eve. Colt brought her a few more drinks, and before she knew it, Eve had pulled her onto the dance floor. Katie was not drunk by any means, but she had enough alcohol in her system that she didn't care what others thought of her; all she wanted to do tonight was have some fun. She had been working so hard for the WWE, it was time that she let loose. Before long she saw Punk come down onto the dance floor from the booth, and, as awkward and out of place as he was, move through the dance floor towards her.

The music wasn't typical club and house beats – they played a lot of top 40 and the classics, some mixed in with beats, so Katie was having even a better time than imagined. She hated house music, but to hear top 40 put a smile on her face. She and Eve had been singing out loud to each other, and soon Punk approached them, joining in on the fun. He tried to dance for the sake of Katie, but to no avail – he just ended up looking like a fish out of water. Instead of embarrassing himself even more, he let Colt take over while he stood off to the side with Renner and Kofi as they watched the girls on the dance floor. Colt and Katie were having a great time singing and interacting with each other, much to Punk's enjoyment. No-one even knew that he had just dropped 55 grand on a ring...nobody except Colt, because it was hiding in his suitcase.

After the girls had danced for quite some time they retreated back to the booth, Punk, Renner and Kofi following them to make sure they weren't bothered by others. John soon joined them and they sat together, trying to talk over the music. Punk kept as much of an eye on Colt as he possibly could, and would see him try to approach girls, only to get shut down immediately. He was having a good time with Natalya and Tyson Kidd on the dance floor, drinking and singing to the music. Punk could tell he was already hammered.

Punk excused himself from the group to find the washroom. Almost as soon as he left, Colt walked up the steps, clearly drunk. Katie laughed and waved at him, motioning for him to sit beside her, but he had other plans. The song that was playing had a good beat going to it, and suddenly, Colt had the best idea.

He started by blowing Katie a kiss, followed by a wink. He then waltzed over to her, dancing in the process. She gave him a skeptical look, as did everyone else who was in the booth when they noticed him dancing. Suddenly, he began to thrust his hips from side to side, standing right above Katie. This was it. Here comes the lap dance.

He took a wide step and lowered himself onto Katie's lap, noticing the look of absolute shock on her face as he did so. He moved his hips around some more and made sure to gyrate into her lap. He stood up and walked out, picking up her leg and running his hand all the way up to her knee before swinging his leg over it and having it between his legs. Katie noticed all her friends crying from laughter – she probably had a horrified look on her face.

Colt turned to face her again and lowered down on her lap, gyrating once more. Then he took off his shirt and swung it around like a lasso, leaving it draped over Katie's neck. From the corner of her eye Katie saw John stand up and creep over to them – he shoved a twenty dollar bill into Cabana's pants before cheering. That's also when Katie noticed Punk at the stairs – in the split second when he saw and registered what Colt was doing, he laughed so hard he literally fell to the floor. She must have really had a horrified look on her face. Colt twisted some of her hair around his finger before blowing her one last kiss and raising himself from her lap, bowing at everyone who was cheering and clapping for him. Katie began to cheer as well and chant 'encore!' before she handed him his shirt back so he didn't get kicked out of the club. Punk was still in stitches on the floor as Colt grabbed his arm to help him up. Punk walked over to Katie, still laughing, and sat down beside her. He pulled her in and gave her a quick kiss.

"A lap dance from Colt Cabana means you have officially been inaugurated into our group," he said in her ear.

"Good!" she yelled back. "Cause I think I've got a lady boner!"


End file.
